


Family Ties

by Sculla



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Hel - Freeform, Loki's Kids, Narfi - Freeform, Team are Loki's kids, jörmungandr - Freeform, vali - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-07
Updated: 2014-08-16
Packaged: 2018-01-14 22:03:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 38,074
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1280386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sculla/pseuds/Sculla
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Loki comes through the Portal to Midgard, his arrival causes the predictable reaction for a God Of Mischief; it also makes Clint believe that he has won the SHIELD Prize Pool to be the person who makes Coulson show emotion hands down. </p>
<p>Where in Loki's true plan is to find his children who were exiled to Midgard and protect them from any and all threats.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So for those who have noticed, why yes this is the same Sculla over in FF.net and yes I am moving it over here. However I will still be posting on both sites, fear not if you've bookmarked it there.
> 
> Anyway, this idea was originally thought up from a prompt on the Avengers kink meme and clearly ran away from me to become some sort of multi-chaptered monstrosity. It's a work in progress and my updating is somewhat...sporadic...sometimes I will pump out a couple of chapters pretty quick other times it may take me up to six weeks to post one. But I do promise to finish it eventually!
> 
> Original Prompts:  
> "When Loki arrives he explains that he agreed to lead the Chitauri so he could get to Midgard and find his children: Jörmungandr, Fenrir, Hela, Vali, and Narfi...aka Steve, Clint, Natasha, Tony and Bruce (the Hulk is a manifestation of his natural shape shifting abilities). While they're trying to keep Thanos from coming through, Thor arrives, and they all freak the heck out."

When he had been put on guard duty, Clint wondered what he had done wrong to deserve it. He was pretty sure he had completed all his latest missions within the parameters; he had even kept the snarky comments on the Comms to a minimum; something which had earned a raised eyebrow from the stoic Coulson at least twice. Normally, Clint would have been a general pain in the senior agent’s ass but the past few months he just hadn’t been feeling it. Clint felt like there was something on the edge of his consciousness; a feeling telling him that something big was coming and to be prepared. Clint couldn’t pin down what exactly the feeling was but ever since New Mexico the archer couldn’t shake it off; it was always there, in the corner of his mind hidden in the shadows, waiting.

It was during the second week Clint had been on babysitting duty when the Tesseract began to act up. Selvig and the other science nerds were all excited but Clint found himself up in his nest a majority of the time avoiding the little glowing square. The cube just made him edgy for some reason; it was like he could feel the power roiling around inside it. The archer had heard Selvig mention a doorway, a bridge of energy whilst talking with a co-worker about the cube a few days ago and ever since Clint had eyed the cube warily. Doors opened from both sides and it was like he could feel the shadowy power building on the other side waiting to burst through if he stared at the Tesseract for too long. Combined with the feeling, Clint was so damned twitchy he had sequestered himself up in his nest to avoid the predictable jokes.

Coulson had ordered an evacuation of the base an hour ago and SHIELD was currently clearing out everything it could as quickly as possible. Tearing his eyes away from the glowing blue cube, Clint looked down when he caught movement at the doors; Fury had arrived. The archer watched the black clad man walk over to Selvig and begin conversing with the scientist before he turned his eyes back to the cube. Something was coming and whatever it was, it was powerful and Clint was loathe to admit it…somewhat familiar.

_“Agent Barton, report to me.”_

Clint’s eyes flicked back to the two men before he pushed up from his crouched position next to the rail and over to the zip line. He grabbed the rope and then jumped of the edge of the platform and lowered himself down to the ground before walking quickly over to the director.

“I gave you this detail so you could keep a close eye on things.” Fury growled as Clint came to a stop beside him.

The archer gave a shrug. “I see better from a distance.” He answered absently as his eyes were drawn to the cube again.

“Are you seeing anything that might set this thing off?” Fury asked sarcastically.

“No one’s come or gone. It’s clean, no contacts, no I.Ms.” Clint answered as he paced around the raised platform the scientists had set up a few weeks ago to ease some of his twitchiness. He shot the director a look before turning back to the cube. “If there was any tampering, sir, it wasn’t on this end.” He added quietly.

“At this end?” Fury queried giving the agent a sharp look.

Clint gave the other man a surprised look. “Yeah, the cube is a doorway to the other side of space, right? Doors open from both sides.” He answered. Clint saw Fury’s eye narrow in consideration but before the other man could open his mouth to speak the Tesseract began to react.

A loud whirling noise began to fill the air as the cube began to glow brighter and brighter. Small tendrils of energy began to flare out of the cube and as the energy began to rise, the tendrils grew until there was a whirling vortex of blue energy swirling around the Tesseract and its stand. Suddenly a blue beam of light flashed back toward the other side of the room where a circular wall of blue energy formed. Clint stared wide eyed at the sight alongside everyone else in the room. He knew, in a small part of his mind that he should be reacting in an appropriate manner to the situation; clearing the room of the civilians, trying to cut power to the Tesseract or something but the majority of his brain was screaming ‘ _He’s coming! Yes, Yes, Yes!’_

Eventually the Tesseract seemed to reach its peak and with a flare of light, a wave of energy burst away from the glowing wall and flew toward them. Clint braced himself and lifted an arm to protect his face instinctively as the wave of energy passed over them harmlessly. When he lowered his arm he caught a figure kneeling on the platform where the wall of energy had been only moments before. A small group of SHIELD agents slowly began to approach the kneeling figure with their weapons pointed toward him. When the man slowly raised his head, Clint felt his breath catch in his throat without knowing exactly why. He had never seen the other before in his life that he could recall but there was something about that face, something so familiar that it ached.

“Sir, please put down the spear!” Fury called from beside him. Clint twitched ever so slightly and he glanced at the Director from the corner of his eye before flicking back to the kneeling figure; he hadn’t even noticed the elaborate spear shaped staff in the man’s hand, so focussed was he on the other’s face. Clint cursed his inattention as the man pushed to his feet and fired a blue bolt of energy in their direction. Acting instinctively, Clint shoved Fury out of the projectile’s way and it bypassed them to hit the desk of computer equipment behind that exploded loudly. The SHIELD agents automatically opened fire but the stranger shrugged off the bullets and threw himself across the room, impaling one of the men with the staff and throwing daggers into the throats of a couple of others before Clint had even pushed himself into a kneeling position. Even though his mind was screaming to do the opposite, Clint sighted up his handgun and pulled the trigger on the stranger’s head. To his astonishment and for some reason relief, the bullet ricochet off the dark haired man’s skull. The man gave a grunt in surprise and sent a sharp look toward Clint. The archer felt something clench inside him at the expression and he threw himself to the side to avoid another blast of blue energy from the staff; the SHIELD agents behind him weren’t so lucky.

Clint was pushing himself to his feet when he heard the fast approaching footsteps behind him, he twisted around raising his gun but the man grabbed his wrist tightly stopping it. Clint let out a grunt of pain at the tightness of the grip; he could feel the small bones in his wrist grinding together under the pressure. The dark haired man leaned in close and ran his narrowed eyes over Clint’s face intently and the archer fought not to flinch back under their sharp gaze. The blue gaze held him frozen for several long seconds before a sad, wry smile formed on the man’s face as he tilted his head to the side.

“You recognise me not.” The man stated softly. There was a deep sadness in his tone that Clint felt mirrored in his core, of a connection broken, torn asunder and then buried. Clint swallowed roughly as the pale blue eyes caught his own and whatever he had been about to say died in his throat as he felt something strong and oh so familiar brush up against his mind. “Oh I see, how clever Allfather.” The man continued quietly to himself. “But I have learnt much since I fell.” Clint’s eyes never left the other’s as the man lifted the staff and pressed it against his chest. The archer felt a surge of power flow from the weapon and into his chest; Clint let out a choked gasp at the feeling. Instead of pain as he had been expecting it was as if a huge weight had been removed from his body and mind. The difference was so surprising that he dropped the handgun and his legs dropped out from underneath him. He would have dropped to the ground if the dark haired man; _Loki_ , his mind supplied, hadn’t caught him.

_Loki, God of Mischief, Liesmith, Silver tongue…_

“Father…” He breathed as he stared up at the pale face looking down at him.

Loki’s icy gaze softened and Clint felt cold fingers brush against his cheek. “Jörmungandr.” He responded in a voice thick with emotion. “I have come for you.”

Clint, no… _Jörmungandr_ gave Loki a watery smile before he gipped the God’s sides and buried his face into his father’s chest. He managed a couple of shaky breaths before a choked sob escaped at the rush of emotions and memories. His father had come for him; after so long, his father had done as he had promised and come for him.

“Hush, little one. I am here now.” Loki stated softly as he brushed his fingers through Clint’s short hair.

With his face buried into his father’s chest as it was, Clint could still hear Fury moving around slowly. The metallic clicks from the director’s direction sounded like the other had enclosed something into a protective suitcase; more than likely not the Tesseract. As a SHIELD agent, Clint shouldn’t be hugging a hostile force like a child, but as it was the archer just didn’t give a fuck what he should have been doing instead. Jörmungandr didn’t care that Loki had killed half a dozen human agents nor that he had broken into a secure government compound. He only cared that his father had come for him as promised and freed him from Odin’s magic.

“You will not be taken from me again, this I promise.” Loki whispered fiercely into Clint’s hair as he squeezed his son closer for several seconds before slowly releasing him. Clint made a small noise in the back of his throat as Loki released him however he was relieved when the God only pulled back enough to turn his body around to face Fury who was slowly reaching for a discarded weapon on the floor. “Please don’t.” Loki called to the director as he stroked his hand in a calming manner across the top of Clint’s head as it leant against his thigh.

Fury paused where he was standing and shot a narrow eyed look to Clint where he was kneeling docile-like on the ground next to the hostile. “What the hell did you do to my agent?”

Loki tilted his head slightly so that he could see Fury out of the corner of his eye while keeping Clint in the rest of his field of vision. “I simply broke the enchanted on him, dear Director.” The God answered. “His mind and memory is now his own once more.”

“Really? You expect me to believe that?” Fury demanded. “If anything it looks like you put an enchantment on my agent rather than released him from one.”

Here Clint pulled back enough so that he could turn his head against Loki’s chest to face his superior. “He’s telling the truth, Sir.” He stated just loud enough for the one eyed man to hear. “He released me from…from the All-Father’s binding magic.”

Fury’s eye narrowed as he gazed at his subordinate still enclosed in the stranger’s arms. The trio’s eyes flickered over to the right as Selvig slowly climbed to his feet and approached slowly. “All-Father? As in Odin, father of Thor?”

Clint felt his newly released mind recoiled from the name uttered by the scientist, he was unaware his body had done the same until he felt Loki’s grip tighten around his shoulders. He looked up to his father and found him glaring at the suddenly pale man. “So it seems you were one of the mortals my brother met when he was banished to this realm.”

Selvig shifted nervously under the sharp eyed attention. “Brother…you are Loki? Thor’s brother; the one who tried to kill him in New Mexico!” The announcement caused the predictable reactions form the SHIELD agents, who all repointed their weapons at the new arrival and looked toward Fury for orders.

Clint smiled softly at the pleased feeling when he heard it had been Loki who had tried to kill his uncle almost a year ago in the desert. “Good.” He said softly as he nuzzled his face into Loki’s hip.

“Good?” Fury queried. “As I recall, Agent Barton, in Coulson’s report you were; and I quote, ‘Rooting for this guy’.”

Clint scowled and shot the Director a dirty look. “That was before I recalled him trying to kill me as a child with his war hammer!” he snapped back.

“Thor wouldn’t attack a child!” Selvig retorted offended on behalf of the man he had meet in New Mexico a year ago.

“Clearly you don’t know my brother as well as you thought you did, mortal.” Loki interrupted smoothly before the Norwegian scientist could make any further comment in defence of the God. “Did Thor ever tell you why he was on Midgard? Did he tell you what he had done to warrant banishment and the All-Father to strip his powers from him?” Loki waited several seconds in which Selvig opened and shut his mouth silently. “He led an unprovoked attack on another realm resulting in the deaths of several hundred; Odin was most displeased that his brash actions resulted in war.”

Selvig looked unconvinced of Loki’s explanation and looked toward Fury hesitantly then back to Loki. “Thor said it was you the orchestrated the war; you led the Ice Giants into Asgard and were the puppet master behind the scenes. Your actions resulted in Thor being banished not his own.”

Clint snorted whilst Loki tipped his head back and barked out a sharp laugh. “I admit it; I was behind Thor’s banishment. I came to Midgard whilst he was in your custody,” he said with a nod toward Fury. “And I told him that Odin was dead and that he would never be allowed back into Asgard. Of course that all changed when I discovered secrets only the King of Asgard could know.” He added in an angry mutter. “It was prudent to get Thor back to Asgard as quickly as possible then.”

“So what you are saying is that you are the _good_ guy here?” Fury demanded sceptically.

Loki snapped his head in Fury’s direction and narrowed his eyes angrily. “I am saying that you should hear both sides of the story before you make your decision.”

“You killed half a dozen good men moments after your arrival!” Fury snapped. “I don’t need to hear your side of the story.”

“Killed, Director?” Loki replied easily. “I have not killed anyone.” The god nodded his head in the direction of the other side of the room. Turning Fury looked over his shoulder and found the agents Loki had killed were slowly pushing to their feet unharmed and dazed. “Appearances can be deceptive.” Loki added.

Fury pursed his lips as he turned back to study the self-proclaimed god before him. “What do you really want here?” he growled.

Loki smiled thinly and brushed a pale hand through Clint’s hair once more. “I only want what was stolen from me, Director.” He responded easily.

“I can’t let you have the Tesseract.” The black man growled back defensively.

Loki snorted and waved a hand dismissively. “Keep it, I care not for the trinket but know that there are others that seek it.” He explained. “No, I want my children back.” Here, Clint turned his head so that his face brushed Loki’s hip as the god pulled him closer. The feelings of protection and love once more flowed through him at the hug; it was a feeling the archer had missed for years, no, _centuries_.

Fury’s eyes flickered from Loki’s face to the agent in his arms and back. “Children?” he asked sceptically.

Loki’s smile in return was dark. “Yes, my children.” He explained. “Surely you have heard the stories? We were worshiped as Gods on your world once; legends carry some grain of truth after all.”

“You actually gave birth to an eight-legged horse?” Selvig demanded in shock.

Clint’s shoulders shook as he chuckled quietly and he buried his face further into his father’s stomach to hide his amusement. Loki shot his child a disgruntled look before returning his sharp eyes to the Norwegian scientist. “Sleipnir, whilst being the only one of his kind is not my son, no.” he muttered in annoyance. “He was begotten by Svaðilfari and my mare; where the Vikings got the ridiculous notion I birthed him I do not know.”

“And the other legends? The other monster children?” Selvig asked curiously.

Clint tensed, yanked himself out of his father’s grip and pushed to is feet affronted. “I am not a monster!” he shouted outraged at the thought. “I have done nothing to earn that title and neither have my siblings apart from simply existing!”

Selvig jerked back at the anger and Fury’s hand brought the pistol back up but he didn’t fire. “Peace, Jörmungandr.” Loki murmured to his son as he stepped forward and rested a calming hand on his son’s trembling shoulder. He shot Selvig a nasty glare before speaking slowly. “You would best not mention such slander in my or my children’s presence, mortal.”

Clint gritted his jaw but made no further advance toward Selvig so Fury slowly lowered his weapon once more. “Jörmungandr?” he asked slowly.

“Yes.” Clint growled through gritted teeth. “It is my name, my true name.” he added to clarify.

“And the other…kids from the stories? Hel and Fen-something, the wolf?” Fury questioned shooting a look back to Loki.

“Hel and Fenrir; yes they are too my children. Born of Angrboða; my mistress.” Loki answered.

“The Frost Giant?” Selvig asked.  He shot the two men hesitant looks at the question. “Legends say she was a Frost Giant.” He added hastily.

Clint’s lips twisted in irritation whilst Loki rolled his eyes. “She was Aesir, I assure you; though not of the calibre to be worthy of a Prince of Asgard or so the All-Father thought. She ‘died’ unexpectedly shortly after the birth of our daughter; Odin cast them out of Asgard as abominations.” Here Loki paused and there was a flicker of old pain in his eyes before he continued. “My wife; Sigyn, had borne me two sons, twins; Vali and Narfi.”

“So you’re saying two more of your kids are on Earth?’ Fury questioned, shooting Clint an unnamed look as he asked.

Loki smiled wryly. “Not at all, Director; I am saying all my children are on Midgard.”

“You just said Odin only cast out the mons-uh, the first three.” Selvig pointed out, hastily correcting himself at the last minute. It didn’t work considering the dark looks both men shot the bumbling scientist.

“He did.” Loki affirmed. “However other Aesir did not take kindly to my other children even if they were born to a Prince of Asgard and a woman deemed to be of satisfying standing.”

Fury shifted uncomfortably. “Is this the story where one of them is turned into a wolf and rips the other to pieces? Something about binding you to a rock with the intestines?” At the horrified looks thrown in his direction he shrugged unrepentant. “That one stuck with me.” He explained.

“Small wonder.” Clint muttered under his breath.

“The Norse had such imaginations.” Loki answered in a strained tone. “Thor had never been fond of my other children,” Loki chuckled darkly before continuing. “Vali and Narfi; though they had never met their siblings still defended them; this displeased my brother and many other Aesir greatly and resulted in many fights. One day it got out of hand; someone died and my sons fled for their lives. I did all I could to throw Thor and the others off their trail without incriminating myself; I bound their abilities and memories much as Odin had their siblings and hid them away on Midgard. There has been no chance to find them once more until recently.”

“So what you are saying is that we have five of your kids hiding out here on Earth?” Fury asked with narrowed eyes.

 “And I have come to claim them once more.” Loki smiled benignly. “Before the Chitauri destroy this realm.” He added as an afterthought.

_“WHAT?!”_


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here is the second part. For those eagle-eyed readers who noticed; I have edited this version a little bit compared to the FF.net version. Mostly just grammatical error etc and the odd sentence which I've only just noticed causes problems with the continuation.

Clint sat perched on the top of one of the bookshelves near the air vent in the briefing room where Fury had dragged them after his father’s offhand announcement. He watched Loki describe the Chitauri’s strengths and forces from his position whilst Coulson and Hill took notes and Fury glared daggers and paced.

“I told them I would create a gateway using the Tesseract to allow them entry into this realm.” Loki was saying before he shrugged and a smirk formed on his face. “I lied.”

Fury paused in his pacing and crossed his arms as he shot the god a narrow eyed look. “How can we be sure of that?’ he demanded.

Loki’s face fell into a serious expression. “My children are no more welcome on Asgard as the Chitauri are here; rest assured, _Director_ , I would not endanger the only realm in which my children are safe.”

Clint felt himself relax at the admission and he curled up allowing the warm heat from the vent to flow over him; although he knew deep down that his father wouldn’t allow anything to threaten his children again there was a small part of himself that was still fearful of the thought. Having his own uncle swearing to kill him was most likely the reason; Thor’s name still sent shivers of fear racing along his spine.

Fury eyed Loki for several long seconds before nodding shortly. “Then there is no reason to worry.” He stated.

Clint watched as Loki shrugged in return. “The Chitauri may yet find a way to this realm but it would take time and magics far greater than what they possess.” He paused with a disquieted expression on his face. “Asgard may be another story all together; your experiments on the Tesseract have sent ripples through the void, signalling to all who notice that Midgard is ready for a higher form of combat. I suggest no further experimentation; Asgard would surely have noticed your dabbling, though they may ignore it without any further interaction I hold no promises.” He warned.

“Asgard would attack us?” Coulson asked looking up from his notebook, pen held above the paper.

“I doubt Thor would allow that; he seemed fond of Earth and Jane Foster.” Selvig interjected.

Fury ignored Clint’s snort from above and favoured Loki a sharp look. “Would he?” he demanded.

Loki pursed his lips as he thought over the question. “It is hard to say, my brother was changed by his expulsion from Asgard. There is a chance he may refrain from outright war with Midgard but I cannot guarantee it.”

Fury was quiet for a moment before he turned to Coulson. “I want the Avengers Initiative to be put back on track.” He ordered the smaller man. Coulson nodded in acceptance and pushed to his feet.

“Sir?” Hill questioned. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” she asked. “We don’t know for sure that Asgard would attack us.”

“Better safe than sorry, Hill.” Fury retorted before stepping back and allowing Coulson to leave the room. The director looked up to where Clint was sitting curled up under the heating vent and smirked. “You know, that makes sense now.” He drawled. Clint raised his head and shot a curious look at the man. “Jörmungandr; also known as the Midgard Serpent; snakes like warm enclosed places.” Loki chuckled and even Hill’s lips twitched in amusement as Clint spluttered in indignation.

“What is this Initiative you have set in motion?” Loki asked with a curious expression on his face.

Fury raised an eyebrow in his direction.  “That’s classified.” He replied.

“It’s a half-baked idea to make up a team of people with special skills to protect the world.” Clint answered for his father. At Fury’s irritated glare Clint shrugged unrepentant; it did involve him though the archer doubted it did anymore.

Loki sat up straighter; his interest peaked. “Special skills?” he asked.

“Amongst other things.” Fury answered before he shot the god a considering look. “If you prove trustworthy, we could use a man with your skills.” He suggested.

Clint watched as his father’s face took on an amused expression. “You wish for me to be at beck and call of mere mortals?” he asked archly.

“If it comes down to it who are you going to side with? Thor and Asgard or the mere mortals who are trying to protect the planet your kids live on?” Fury asked rhetorically as he made his way to the door. “Hill, escort Loki and _Jörmungandr_ to the Level Three living quarters. I’d rather you didn’t go wandering around my compound without my knowledge. If you don’t prove troublesome I may allow you freedom.”

“You couldn’t stop me if you tried.” Loki retorted with a chuckle. “However I will assent to your whims, thought be aware that if you endanger any of my children I will not be so kind.”

Fury eyed the god silently before nodded in understanding and leaving the room. Hill pushed to her feet and gestured to the door. “If you would follow me.” She stated before looking up at Clint uncertainly. “You too, Barton.”

Clint smirked in amusement before uncurling and sliding down to land on the ground beside his father. Apparently SHIELD wasn’t quite sure where he stood now; he’d bet that Natasha would get a kick out of it; either that or she’d be pissed off at him. Either way she was in Russia on a mission and would be until she had finished, he’d see her in a couple of days. Clint wondered if what she would think of him being a child of a god and then snorted in amusement as he followed his father and Hill out the door; she’d still wipe the floor with him, god or no god.

***

Steve eyed the file Director Fury had handed him with a frown. From the reports, these so called Gods seemed self-important but if what they said was true then he had better prepare himself for a big battle.

“It seems almost fantastical, doesn’t it?”

Steve looked up and shot the shorter agent before him a wane look. “Norse Gods, aliens, monsters? It does a little.” He answered before frowning lightly. “But some of the things I saw in the war…” he trailed off before shaking his head to dismiss the thoughts; it was no use dwelling on the passed, it would only depress him.

“You know, I watched you.” Coulson said as he swayed on his feet with the movement of the jet. “While you were sleeping. I mean-” the agent cut himself off before he could embarrass himself further with flushed cheeks.

Steve gave a nervous chuckle and pushed to his feet, shifting around uncomfortably. He knew that people looked up to him during the war, it took some getting used to, to know that people still looked up to him even now.

“We’ve redesigned your uniform.” Coulson said interrupting the embarrassed silence that had filled the cockpit. “I uh…I had some input on it. I think you’d like it.” He added.

Steve supressed the amused smile that was threatening to arise; Agent Coulson was like some of his younger fans with his enthusiasm. “Don’t you think that’s a little…old fashioned?” he asked, knowing what he knew about present times, running around wearing the American Flag just seemed a bit…egotistical.

“Sometimes you need to be a little bit old fashioned.” Coulson replied with a small smile. Steve eyed him for a few seconds before shrugging and facing forward. If SHIELD thought he should stick to the patriotic uniform he wasn’t going to complain about it; if he was honest to himself he kind of missed the red, white and blue outfit.

A short while later and the plane had landed on what looked like a large aircraft-carrier; he huffed in amusement, he was pretty sure he had won ten dollars of Fury. This didn’t look any different from anything he’d ever seen before. Looking around at the uniformed people running around on deck he spotted the sight of a shorter man walking around looking lost. As he approached, Steve recognised the man as the radiation expert from the files. “Doctor Banner!” he called as he stepped up to the man.

The doctor jumped and spun around to see him. “Oh.” He exclaimed in surprise. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

Steve smiled politely in return. “Director Fury has told me you’re an expert of gamma radiation.” He said holding out a hand in greeting. Banner shook it slowly and gave Steve a wary smile.

“Oh? Is that all he said?” Banner asked hesitantly evidently insinuating about his alter ego.

“Everyone has their histories, Doc.” Steve said giving the other man a comforting look. “Some just have more interesting ones than others.”

“Gentlemen,” A cool voice said from behind. Steve and Doctor Banner turned to see a redheaded woman standing patiently waiting. “We should probably head inside; it’s going to get a little hard to breath.” She suggested.

Steve rose an eyebrow at the comment and jumped slightly when he felt the deck shudder underneath his feet. He exchanged a looked with the doctor when the sound of engines and rushing water began to fill the air.

“Don’t tell me this is a submarine?” Banner groaned looking rather ill. Curious, the pair walked over to the edge of the deck and stared opened mouth at the edge down at the large rotary blade that rose out of the water. “Oh this is much worse.” Banner muttered under his breath. “Much, much worse.”

Steve patted the man on the shoulder. “I have faith it won’t cause you any problems, Doc.” He said. “But perhaps we should move inside, it will definitely be warmer and quieter.” He added.

Doctor Banner pulled a face but nevertheless followed Steve and the redheaded woman; Natasha, if Steve remembered correctly, into the carrier. “Doctor Banner, I’ll show you to the labs if you like.” She said as they made their way down the cold grey hallways. Banner smiled in thanks and Steve assumed the doctor would rather keep his mind occupied than thinking about how much damaged he could do to the air-born carrier if the Hulk came out to play. “Captain, if you follow this corridor, the second door on the right leads to one of the break rooms. One of our…agents will meet you there and show you around.” She said. Steve noticed the hesitation on the word agent and frowned at her back as she led Banner down the hall; what did that mean? Deciding that he’d only find out if he went there, he began making his way as directed. He stepped in through the indicated doorway and noted that the room was empty save a man sitting cross-legged on top of the refrigerator under the air vent fiddling with what looked like an arrow.

“Umm, hi?” he called out in greeting.

The man gave a short wave in greeting as he twisted something onto the end of the arrow and then balanced it on the tip of a finger with a small frown on his face; apparently satisfied with whatever he had done he added it to the small pile of arrows next to his feet.

“You’re an agent of SHIELD?” Steve asked hesitantly, not wanting to bother the other man but wanting to learn more about the people he was to work with.

The man snorted and chuckled in amusement. “That is up in the air, my friend.” The man answered still not looking up. “I was until about two days ago but now they don’t know what to do with me.”

Steve wasn’t sure how to reply to that statement so he stayed silent as he watched the man return the arrows into a cylindrical container and strap it onto his back; Steve wasn’t sure what the correct archery term for the holster was, he’d have to look it up. The man jumped down from his perch and picked up a metal case leaning against the wall Steve hadn’t noticed before in one hand.

“So you’re the guy, Coulson has been mooning over for the last six weeks?” The man said as he looked up at Steve with an amused grin. Steve squirmed in embarrassment but it changed to one of concern as the man’s face drained of all colour and he stumbled, dropping the metal case and grabbing the back of a chair to stop his fall. “Holy shit.” He whispered in shock.

“Uh, are you okay?” Steve asked in concern, stepping forward to help the man sit down in the chair before his legs dropped out from underneath him. He glanced around the room in an attempt to see if anyone else had come in and barring that some way he could call for help.

“Y-you…” the man let out a bark of pained laughter before rubbing a shaking hand over his face. “You don’t recognise me do you?” he asked before shaking his head dismissing his own question with a wave of his hand. Steve looked on confused; was he supposed to recognise the man? “You gotta come with me.” He ordered pushing to his feet and tugging Steve toward the door urgently.

“What’s going on?” Steve questioned worriedly. “Are you okay? Do you need to go to medical?” he asked as he allowed the man to pull him down the halls. He was about to force himself to stop and demand answers when the man shot him an annoyed look over his shoulder.

“Still got the protective streak, huh?” He shook his head and pulled Steve down another hallway. “You’re going to see, Dad.” he directed before he halted and burst out in a mixture of amused and overexcited laughter. “Oh Coulson is gonna shit a brick!” he cried gleefully.

Why Agent Coulson would ‘shit a brick’, Steve didn’t know but he held his questions until the man pulled up in front of a plain door and knocked lightly. Even though the agent was bouncing nervously on his toes with a frenetic energy the knock was strictly polite; evidently the person on the other side was important. The door opened and Steve was greeted by a tall dark haired man with vibrant blue eyes looking annoyed by the distraction. “Jörmungandr-Clint.” He corrected as he noted someone else was there.

The agent; Jörmungandr or Clint grinned widely. Wasn’t Jörmungandr a big snake? Steve thought to himself, was that a code name? “Look who I found!” the agent cried happily as he shoved Steve forward and into the other man’s chest.

Steve cried out in surprise and tried to stop himself from colliding with the poor man, but apparently the stranger was stronger than he looked and he easily caught Steve without incident.

“ _Jörmungandr_.” The man hissed in irritation. Steve looked up and was about to apologise when the stranger froze and his eyes widened in surprise. “ _Fenrir.”_ He breathed in shock.

Steve blinked unsurely. Was the man calling him Fenrir? “I’m sorry; I think there’s been a mistake.” He started to say.

The man shook his head slowly and then threw back his head and laughed loudly. “No, there is no mistake, Hroðvitnir.” He chuckled. “Come in, I will explain.” With that he let Steve go and stepped back into the room. Steve could swear that from the man’s expression he didn’t actually want to let him go, which confused him greatly but he nonetheless enter the room followed by the other agent who closed the door behind them.

“Explain.” Steve asked as he entered what looked like a living room. He hadn’t been expecting such large quarters on the carrier; evidently this man was extremely important.

 “My name is Loki; I am not from this realm.” The man introduced. He waved a hand toward the agent who had sprawled himself over the couch next to the wall. “My son, Jörmungandr; though the people of this realm know him as Agent Clinton Barton, codenamed Hawkeye.”

Steve frowned the dark haired man didn’t look old enough to have a teenaged son let alone one in his early thirties. Loki, Jörmungandr; those were definitely the names of Norse gods and legends. Wait, wasn’t Fenrir a big wolf or something in Norse mythology?

Loki pulled a large golden staff out of the air and before Steve could step back he placed the tip against his chest and a pulse of blue energy pumped out over his body. He had been expecting pain from electrocution or something similar even though in actuality the energy reminded him of the cube the Red Skull had been using back in the war. As the blue light flowed over his body he let out a hiss of surprise as he felt something lift away from his body as if a great weight has disappeared. He stumbled at the feeling but was prevented from falling when a pair of strong arms wrapped around from behind.

“Easy, Brother.” The owner of the arms whispered. “It takes a few minutes to get used to, just relax and the memories will flow easily.”

Memories? As if summoned by the thought an influx of images and feelings flew through his mind. Laughing and playing with a smaller boy in golden fields whilst a tall dark haired man and pregnant blonde woman watched over them with smiles; sneaking around corridors with the same child hiding from angry warriors; looking down in awe at the small pale face with a tuft of red hair amongst a bundle of soft blankets; standing protectively in front of the smaller blonde boy holding the baby girl in his arms and defiantly staring up at the one eyed man who was glaring at him and finally experiencing pain as he watched the man; his own grandfather, bind and banish his younger siblings through the Bifrost until it was his turn even as his father screamed and strained against the arms holding him back. Jerking back into the present Steve let out a cry and curled in on himself.

“Easy, Brother, easy. I’ve got you, you’re safe.” The voice whispered; his brother’s voice. Although much older and deeper he recognised that voice now.

“Fenrir?”

Lifting his head Steve found Loki staring down at him worriedly. He swallowed thickly and then lunged forward, burying his face into the man’s chest. “Father.” He sobbed. He felt Loki’s hand brush up and down his back in comfort as he was pulled further into the man’s arms.

“Yes, I am here now.” Loki whispered. “I am here.”

Steve sniffed tearfully but allowed himself to stay in his father’s arms; arms he didn’t think he was ever going to feel ever again. The images of a short blonde man filled through his head and he shook it away; Joseph and Sarah Rogers weren’t his parents. He was with his real father now, his real father and his brother.  He heard Jörmungandr quietly leave and just breathed in the scent and warmth of his father; he was safe here, he thought as he felt his eyes droop. Safe from Odin and Thor, as his eyes closed and Loki’s hand brushed through his hair he idly wondered where his sister was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a little short.
> 
> Excuse the Google Translated Russian, my bad if it isn't actually what it says.

After dropping Dr Banner off to his labs Natasha had returned to her room in the SHIELD quarters. She quietly slipped into her room and closed the door behind her with a silent sigh of relief; she had nothing personal against Banner but she had read the reports, she knew what the Hulk was capable of and as much as she didn’t want to admit it, she was frightened of him. Opening her eyes, she shot a cursory glance around her room before striding over to the small desk and switching on the laptop and logging into the SHIELD server. A few quick keys and she was into the secure server; it was time to work out what the hell was going on with Barton.

Whilst Natasha wasn’t the most computer savvy, she had in her long career of subterfuge learnt a few things and within ten minutes she was in Fury’s personal files; if anyone knew what the hell was going on with Clint it was the Director. Sure enough a small folder labelled Project Asgard had brought up Barton’s name in several files. Opening the first, she ran her eyes over the reports of what had happened in the secure facility two days ago and her eyebrows rose. Loki; that was a name she recognised from one of Clint’s last missions in New Mexico. Loki’s arrival on Earth was dramatic, but it was the actions afterward that caught her attention. A small video file accompanied the report and she quickly clicked on it to open it. She watched the scene in silence, eyes taking in every possible detail. Natasha couldn’t quite stifle the sharp intake of breath as Loki pressed his sceptre against Clint’s chest in a menacing manner, however the archer only jerked as if shocked and then his legs dropped out from underneath him and as he fell Loki caught him carefully. To her everlasting surprise, Clint then burst into tears and latched onto the man and refused to let him go. “Что за черт?”[i] She murmured under her breath as she watched. Never in the entire time that she had known Barton had she ever seen the man cry. Glaring at the small screen Natasha cursed in annoyance at its lack of sound, what she wouldn’t give to know what Loki was whispering into her partner’s ear right then.

Well there was one way to find out, she decided as she logged out and shut down her laptop; corner Clint and make him talk. Pushing to her feet she left her room and began searching for her partner. If he was doing as he was supposed to, he would be giving Steve Rodgers a tour of the Helicarrier. Natasha glanced at her watch; they should be almost done now, she thought to herself. That meant that Clint would be getting bored and Rogers, with his high metabolism would be needing food, so it was a good bet that they were near the Mess Hall. Satisfied that she had determined their approximate likely location, Natasha turned and headed in the general direction of the Mess, if they weren’t in there they were bound to be around it.

 

* * *

 

 

Clint walked through the hallways of the Helicarrier with a grin on his face that sent lesser agents scurrying for safety. Any expression that remotely resembled a smile on the archer’s face generally meant agents should be aware of incoming projectiles from the air vents or other such actions but to see the archer practically skipping down the halls with a grin so wide his cheeks were probably aching sent them diving away in the opposite direction or locking themselves in their offices. Clint’s grin widened as he spotted a pair of what looked like new recruits staring confusedly at the retreating back of their superior and then in his direction. Apparently these two were smarter than the average new recruits because they put two and two together and hastily followed after their leader. God he loved torturing the new recruits. Coulson would probably bitch about it but Clint didn’t really care; 1) he had his father and brother back; 2) he was pretty much guaranteed to win the SHIELD bet to make Agent Phil ‘Robot’ Coulson show emotion; most likely absolute horror and despair at finding out that his hero was not only related to Clint but he was also a Norse God’s son of legend.

As he had said to Rogers’ earlier, Coulson was going to shit a brick. Clint’s grin sharpened, he had to make sure the other man found out in front of a camera, Natasha was going to want to see proof before she paid up. Speaking of Natasha, Clint thought with a slight frown, he should probably go and find her before she heard about Loki from someone else. It would be less painful for him and if he was lucky he could make it sound like he hadn’t cried like a little baby when his memories had returned. God, he was going to have to hack into the secure server to delete that security footage before she went hunting for it and used it as blackmail, it was something she would do. Clint paused at an intersection deciding which direction to go; Natasha would have already left Dr. Banner in the labs and was either reporting to Fury or hunting him down.

“Barton.” A cool voice said from behind him.

Hunting him down it was, he thought with a wince. “Tasha.” He drawled casually in return as he started to turn to face her. “How was India? I heard Coulson pulled you out of the Russian miss-” he started before cutting off mid-word in shock.

He saw Natasha’s face change from annoyance to mild concern when he made no sound other than a choked off noise in the back of his throat. “Clint?” she asked cautiously after a few seconds of silence. She jerked back in surprise when Clint started laughing; she edged further away still when the laughter took on a hysterical edge.

Clint was leaning back against the wall for support when she raised her hand to her ear and tapped her radio. “This is Agent Romanov; security to my location.” She demanded warily.

The order caused Clint to burst into another round of laughter and it took him several seconds until he was able to gasp out any kind of reply. “No, no, I’m fine.” He managed in between breaths. “It’s just…haha…just now I know why…ha...why I didn’t shoot you that day…haha.” Clint managed to get his laughter under control before a sudden thought occurred to him and he burst out laughing again. “Thank God I didn’t have sex with you!” he gasped.

Natasha scowled and stepped forward to smack him over the back of his head causing him to stumble forward with a wince. “Ouch.” He grumbled under his breath as he straightened and shot her an annoyed look which promptly morphed into a stupid grin when he saw her face again. He noted the return of confusion on her face and a small amount of uncertainty in her blue eyes as she looked at him and he felt a small portion of his smile fall at the sight of it. Natasha still had trust issues even after all the years they had known each other and she probably thought he was laughing at her.

“Explain. Now.” She demanded, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Clint raised his hand apologetically and gave her a sheepish grin. “Come on, Loki would be able to explain it better than I could.” He saw the recognition at the name flash across her face and winced internally, crap she already knew about the Asgardian; that didn’t bode well for his continued health.

“I hacked your file.” She stated calmly before spinning around and heading toward the guest quarters at a quick pace.

“You really need to stop doing that.” He retorted dryly as he followed her after a few seconds pause. “I’m pretty sure it gives Coulson a migraine every time you do it.” A few minutes later they were standing outside Loki’s room and Natasha was watching Clint warily as he bounced on his toes with a smile. Stepping up, Clint pounded his fist against the door. “Knock-knock, I come bearing further gifts!” he called out. Muffled voices were heard on the other side of the door and Clint deduced that his brother was still in there with their father. The archer couldn’t begrudge his brother the time with Loki; after all he himself had latched on to the elder man and hadn’t left his side for almost twenty four hours after his arrival; still, he couldn’t quite quash the small fare of jealousy the rose.

Clint stepped back as he heard footsteps approach the door and he felt his lips twitch upwards once more in anticipation; this was going to be awesome.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (i) "Что за черт?” - What the Hell?"


	4. Chapter 4

Natasha shot Clint a look from the corner of her eye as the footsteps approached the door; the idiot was back to the barely concealed bouncing. Whoever was on the other side of the door; her money was on Loki, was obviously important to the archer. The entire situation made her uneasy, first the stranger appears through some kind of portal, then he does something to Clint which causes a major about face on his usual reactions to strangers and now he was acting like an excited child. Clearly whoever this Loki really was (reported brother of that guy down in New Mexico non-withstanding) he had apparently pulled the wool over SHIELD’s eyes if they weren’t treating him like a threat; obviously it came down to her to fix this. Holding her arms loosely at her sides was prepared for anything Loki wold try; she wasn’t however prepared to see Steve Rogers open the door instead of the self-proclaimed God.

“Jör, what are you-” he began as the door opened only to trail off when he found Natasha standing in front of him.

Natasha gave the man a small nod in greeting even as her eyes flicked over his shoulder to see who else was in the room.

“Holy…Hel!”

Natasha’s eyes jerked back to Steve at the cry and unfortunately she was too occupied by his shout to be prepared for his large form rushing forward and engulfing her; something she was going to have to work on at a later time. Right now she twisted out of his grasp, which oddly enough was more like a hug than any attempted attack, threw out a quick punch to his solar plexus with her right arm whilst her left leg twisted around his right one and when he hunched forward in pain from the blow she used her leverage to throw him over her shoulder and onto the ground before dancing back out of reach and looking for the next attacker warily.

The hallway was dead silent apart from a pained groan from the floor and what sounded like Clint choking on a laugh. When there was no further attack Natasha spun around and sent a death glare toward her partner; she smirked in satisfaction when the amusement dropped off his face and he straightened meekly.   

“You never were one for affection, even when you were a child.”

Natasha fought the urge to twitch at the amused voice; Loki had managed to sneak up on her without her knowing. No one but Clint had ever managed that feat and the only reason Barton could ever do it was because he frequented the air ducts. Straightening from out of her instinctive crouch she turned and showed Loki an expressionless face. “Loki.” She stated flatly.

A brief pained look passed over Loki’s face before a soft smile formed. “Agent Romanov would you like to come in?” he asked. When he saw the distrustful look cross her face the smile grew in amusement. “I’m sure you wish to have an explanation, I will answer any questions you have that I am able and we will be more comfortable sitting down than standing in the hallway.” He added.

Natasha was sure the distrustful expression never left her face but a quick sidelong look to see Clint was watching her with an almost absurdly hopeful expression on his face caused her to make up her mind. She stepped forward and walked past Loki into the room; acting like putting her back to a potential threat was hardly worth her time and calmly sat down on one of the dark green couches.

A quick survey of the room brought nothing more than a raised eyebrow at the changes from the usual guest quarters on the Helicarrier. Apparently Loki preferred soft couches in green, gold and black tones rather than the usual utilitarian grey; she wondered curiously where he had managed to procure them, surely Fury would not have been bothered to cater to his every whim?

Looking back she watched as Loki elegantly sat down on the couch in front of her and was joined by a somewhat subdued and sheepish Steve Rogers; Natasha felt a small pang of guilt for the attack but ruthlessly shoved it away, there was more important things to deal with. Clint closed the door after they had all trailed in and then halted hovering between the two seats with a torn expression on his face.

Natasha watched with a calculating eye as the archer took a step toward her and then toward Rogers and Loki and back. Her eyes narrowed when he made a quiet pained noise in the back of his throat and rang his hands together in distress. Loki had definitely done something to her partner, at least Barton still felt some connection to her; she could use this to her advantage.

“Clint.” She called softly.

Barton’s head turned toward her and she hunched her shoulders just so and looked up at him with an expression of unease and worry showing on her face. Naturally, the gambit worked like it did on all of her marks and the archer hurried over to sit beside her and grasped her smaller hand tightly.

“It’s okay, He-…Tasha.” He said to her softly in a reassuring tone.

Natasha noted the slip and was sure that Clint knew she had noticed, but for his sake she didn’t bring it up. She just held his larger hand in hers and turned toward Loki.

The self-proclaimed God was watching her with an amused look on his face and she bristled despite herself. Loki’s smirked briefly before his face took on a melancholy expression; something which caused Rogers to grasp the pale man’s hand in his own in comfort and Barton to make another distressed noise in the back of his throat and make an aborted move as if he was going to go to the man. Natasha gripped Clint’s hand tighter to hold him in place beside her and the archer just shifted uncomfortably beside her instead.

“Explain.” Natasha demanded when it seemed like no one was going to speak.

Loki patted Rogers on the thigh and then looked toward her. “As I am sure you have discovered with your not inconsiderable skills as a spy, my name is Loki, of Asgard.” He started.

“Loki, of Asgard.” Natasha repeated slowly. “You claim to be the mythical Norse Loptr, God of Mischief and Lies, brother of Þórr and son of Óðinn?” she asked dryly.

Loki gave a sharp smile in response to her question. “You did your research.”

Natasha gave a sharp smile of her own. “A man proclaiming himself as the Norse God of Thunder broke into a secure facility last year and exhibited before unseen abilities; of course I did my research.”

Loki studied her intently for several seconds before he leant back into his seat. “What else have you found in your research?” he asked curiously.

A small frown formed on Natasha’s brow as she thought over the question; there was no harm in answering. “Hearsay and rumours; a vast majority of stories contradict themselves.” She said. “You are the second son of Óðinn and the goddess Frigg, yet you are also the son of Jötunns; King Laufey and Fárbauti, and yet again the brother of Óðinn. Mother of Sleipnir by the stallion Svaðilfari, father of Fenrir, Jörmungandr, Hel by the Jötunn Angrboða and finally father of Narfi and Vali by Sigyn.” Throughout her small speech Natasha had noted that Loki had progressively gotten tenser and tenser in his seat. He was gripping Rogers hand in a white fingered grip, although she was sure that the Captain was grasping Loki’s just as tightly if the jaw tightened in anger was anything to go by. More importantly, Clint had let go of her hand and was now clenching his own into fists in his lap; she knew he wasn’t angry with her but likely the words she had spoken.

Loki’s face was pale once she finished talking and he was staring down at the dark carpet at on the floor. “It seems that I missed more than I thought, last I was here on Midgard.” He said solemnly. He chuckled darkly and shook his head before looking back up her with sad eyes. “It seems that the Midgardian’s are more observant that Odin ever expected. My true paternity was only ever known by Frigga and Odin on Asgard; I can only assume Heimdallr knew as his eyes saw all.” He added in a murmur.

“She just said that you were a Jötunn!” Rogers exclaimed, offended on Loki’s behalf.

Loki gave Rogers a wry smile in reply. “That tale is true, unfortunately.” He explained as he extracted his hand from the Captain’s grip and pushed himself to his feet. He moved several steps away from the seated group and waved a hand almost dismissively over his torso. Natasha stifled a gasp as the pale pink skin slowly faded away to reveal a dark blue undertone with swirling symbols that looked like they had been carved into it. The pale blue eyes had bled into a dark red that covered the whites; the only unchanged thing was the black hair slicked back over his head and the robes he wore.

Rogers made an indistinct noise in shock as he stared at the changed man before him. Natasha turned her gaze away from Loki, mind running a mile a minute and looked to her partner. Clint was sitting in the same position as before; clenched hands in his lap, hunched forward and sitting tensely but his blue eyes were running over Loki’s new form intently.  A quick look at Loki showed that he had schooled his face impassively but the blood red eyes were surprisingly expressive and she could see that he had braced himself for rejection.

“You’re a-a… monster?”

Loki flinched as if struck by Clint’s words and something heavy formed in her gut; she refused to call it pity. Rogers growled at Clint angrily; actually _growled_ like a dog and Natasha raised a delicate eyebrow at the action before turning to see how her partner responded to that. She was completely surprised when he narrowed his eyes and _hissed_ back at Rogers.

“I didn’t mean it like that!” Clint snapped pushing to his feet and shaking himself loose like he did when he was preparing for a physical fight.

Natasha shifted to the edge of her seat and prepared to move out of the way in case Rogers launched himself at the archer; whilst she could take care of herself, she didn’t want to get in between the two if she didn’t have to.

“They called us monsters when we were born for no other reason than because we were different!” Clint hissed again in anger. “Being born differently does not make someone a monster. They’re the monsters, not us!” he finished gesturing wildly toward the ceiling of the room. Natasha had no idea who _They_ were, but obviously there was history in his past she didn’t know.

She watched silently as Clint looked away from Rogers and took several hesitant steps toward Loki before halting; hands half outstretched like he wanted to touch the other man. “I didn’t mean it like _They_ did.” He pleaded softly with tearful eyes. “I meant like us; different but still special, special because we’re all the same.”

Natasha frowned lightly at the last words; they seemed almost like they had been quoted from memory; she doubted it was the circus that had such a motto.

“The same and yet different, because difference is thy name.” Loki’s words were quiet but they all still heard them, apparently it was a rhyme of some kind and Loki just finished it. “You are of course, correct, Little One.”

Natasha was unsurprised to see Clint dive forward to wrap his arms around Loki’s torso with a muffled sob and bury his face into the taller man’s robes; she saw Loki’s blue lips twist into a soft smile at the action and he buried his own face into Clint’s messy blonde hair and held the archer tightly. When Rogers let out a quiet whine of being left out, Loki opened one arm and gestured for the super soldier join them which he did so quickly.

Natasha watched the hugging trio for several silent seconds uneasily. She had never formed such close connections with anyone due to her experiences in the Red Room, but the sight of the three men’s closeness brought forth wistfulness for it. The closest she had ever developed to it was what she had formed with Clint after joining SHIELD and that wasn’t comparable to what she saw before her. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and Loki’s head lifted, he studied her for several seconds before slowly releasing his hold on the two men. Rogers pulled back to sit on the couch with a sigh but Clint remained where he was.

“Jör.” Rogers warned lightly, staring at the shorter man with a frown.

_Jör_? Natasha wondered silently, looking at Clint with a frown.

The archer mumbled something into Loki’s chest that made Rogers growl grumpily under his breath. “Leave him be, Hroðvitnir.” Loki scolded quietly as he manoeuvred Clint and himself over to the couch to sit beside Rogers without pushing the archer away. Natasha smirked at Rogers pout as Clint squirmed around to ensure that he remained entwined with Loki as he sat; the result had Loki’s lap filled with a majority of the sniper whilst Clint’s legs were draped over the super soldier’s thighs, a fact that didn’t appear to displease the tall blonde judging from the way he gently wrapped his fingers around Clint’s ankles softly.

“Hroðvitnir is another name for Fenrir, the first born son.” Natasha spoke into the silence.

Loki’s blue lips twitched wryly. “Yes.” He allowed.

Natasha narrowed her eyes at the man. “Rogers called Barton Jör, I am assuming it is short for Jörmungandr?” she asked.  

“It is.” Was the answer.

Her mind puzzled over the clues she had before her and only came to one improbable conclusion. “How is that possible?” she asked. “Your last recorded visit on Earth was centuries ago, they have memories of when they were children only decades old.”

“Memories can be changed, as you are painfully aware of.” Loki explained quietly as he stroked a free hand through Clint’s hair. Natasha ignored the pointed reminder of the Red Room and listened as Loki continued. “The stories of Odin’s skill in magic are not untrue; when he banished my children from Asgard he bound their memories and abilities before casting them through the Bifrost. The ancient magic changed them; it overlaid their memories and changed their bodies. The past of the man you know as Clint Barton, whilst true is not the only one he has. His true name; the one he was given at birth by his _Aesir_ mother and I, is Jörmungandr; like Steven Rogers’ is Fenrir…” He paused for several seconds and Natasha could almost feel the declaration hanging in the air. “Like yours, my dear daughter, is Hel.”


	5. Chapter 5

Bruce looked around the laboratory Agent Romanov had dropped him off in with an appreciative gaze. SHIELD had equipped it with nearly every high tech piece of equipment available. Was that a Roche Hitachi 912 Chemistry Analyser? He studied gamma radiation for goodness sake not medicine; why waste almost twenty five thousand dollars on a piece of equipment that didn’t relate to his field? A sudden dreadful thought had him eying the device warily; did they want him to have another go at the Super Soldier Serum? If they did, they could stuff their fancy lab up their asses because the only way he was ever going to dabble in that field again was to find a cure for the Other Guy.

Shaking his head, he firmed his resolve to tell them to stuff it if it looked like that’s what they wanted him to do and began wandering around the lab once more trailing his fingers softly over the equipment as he went. Gods, he missed working in such a well-equipped laboratory.

“Dr. Banner?”

Bruce jumped and spun around to find a non-descript looking agent staring at him with a bland smile on his face. He put a hand to his chest and took several deep calming breaths; it was best for everyone involved if he kept his heart rate down.  “Uh…hi, sorry, Agent Romanov dropped me off here, she said this was my lab?” he said hesitantly.

The agent nodded in answer. “Sorry for startling you.” He apologised. “Yes, this will be your laboratory while you are here helping us.” He stated.

“And after I help you?” Bruce demanded quietly. From what he had discovered so far, SHIELD was a military-like Government funded organization, they would be disinclined to let the Hulk go.

“We aren’t keeping you prisoner here, Dr. Banner. After you help us you are free to go if you wish.”

Bruce gave the agent a sceptical look. “You’ll let me go? Without any trouble?”

“If that is what you want, yes.”

“Huh.” Bruce grunted quietly. “Okay.” He glanced around the lab once more but they were still the only two people in the room. “I’m sorry; I didn’t get your name.”

The man gave another bland smile. “Special Agent Phil Coulson, I will be one of your main contacts while you are with us.” He held a plain looking file out to Bruce who took it cautiously and then began speaking once more. “We were unable to brief you on your way here as Agent Romanov had to be redirected to bring you in and she hadn’t been briefed herself. The file in your hands is part of a confidential project SHIELD is working on that was begun in the early 1940s. Certain recent events have caused us to re-evaluate the direction the project was heading in; if our sources are to be believed…we will need all your skills, Doctor.”

Bruce looked up from the file on something called the Tesseract sharply. “ _All_ my skills?” he asked hesitantly, eyeing Agent Coulson seriously.

Coulson’s face didn’t betray any thoughts he had on the statement, positive or negative as he answered. “Yes, Dr. Banner; all of them. If you will excuse me, I have a stubborn consultant to bring in.” he added before nodding and then striding out of the lab and into the hallway.

Bruce watched him go with mixed feelings. His quick look at the Tesseract file had intrigued him definitely but the insinuation that they may need the Other Guy…that he was definitely unsure of. He sat down on a nearby stool and spread the file out over the bench before him and began to read over everything SHIELD had on the Tesseract. The more he read, the more he began to understand what Coulson had meant by needing _all_ of his skills and it wasn’t pretty.

* * *

 

 

Bruce didn’t want to admit it but having access to a laboratory stocked with everything he could ever need was a dream come true; of course the downside was that it was attached to a military organization. The file Agent Coulson had handed him on the Tesseract and the man’s parting words were obvious that SHIELD wanted him for more than just his brain. Shaking his head slowly, Bruce eyed the photographs of the glowing blue cube. A portal to another realm; that was what the file said had happened when the Tesseract had begun to react in facility it was kept. Bruce couldn’t really fault SHIELD’s belief as he had seen the footage of the incident with his own eyes. The video file was included in the small USB that Coulson had attached to the file; it was also loaded with electronic copies of everything within the file; not to mention a report on the so-called God who had come through the portal.

Loki; that was what the man said his name was. Loki, also known as the God of Mischief in Norse mythology. Chewing his lip; Bruce scanned the photograph that had been attached to the report with curious eyes. The dark haired man looking at the camera was oddly familiar but Bruce couldn’t place him, there was perhaps the off chance that he had seen this Loki on one of his many travels across the globe while he attempted to hide from General Ross and his Hulk Busters but since he claimed to be from another realm entirely, Bruce doubted it. There was something about the man’s pale blue eyes that called out to him though, a concealed grief and guilt that was hidden behind the superior smirk on his face. Loki had lost something dear to him to circumstances he couldn’t control; something the God had in common with himself, Bruce thought with a snort.

Sighing he pushed the papers spread across the desk back into the file haphazardly and put it to the side. Taking off his glasses and cleaning them on the bottom of his shirt, Bruce thought over what the incident at the SHIELD facility could possible mean for Earth. If Loki was telling the truth about this Thanos and the Chiaturi; then they were woefully underprepared from any sort of alien attack. No matter what Hollywood thought about such situations, the reality was, humanity wouldn’t stand a chance against a hostile and technologically superior alien race.

The sound of the door hissing open drew Bruce’s attention and he turned to see Agent Coulson standing calmly in the doorway once more. “Dr Banner, if you could follow me, I’d like to introduce you to the people you will be working with on this assignment.”

Even though Bruce was already pushing to his feet and collecting the file from his desk to follow; he was pretty sure the polite request was a barely hidden order. Coulson lead him through a maze of hallways and staircases and no matter how much Bruce tried to commit the layout to memory in case he needed to make a quick escape, he was irreparably lost after a few minutes of walking. Eventually, Coulson led him into a large meeting room and quietly closed the door behind them. The room was empty apart from them and contained a large circular table with chairs seated around it facing a large computer screen displaying a rotating SHIELD logo.

“Please sit, the others will be joining us shortly.”

Bruce nodded and slowly lowered himself into a chair to the side and glanced at the brown cover of the file lying on the table before him. After a quick glance to Coulson who had sat opposite him with his hands clasped and resting on the table waiting patiently, Bruce opened the new file and found that it contained much the same information as the one he had brought with him. The sound of the door opening brought his head up and he found the Director of SHIELD; Nicholas Fury, and a brunette woman dressed in a SHIELD uniform enter. With a nod of greeting to Coulson the pair sat down in vacant chairs beside the other agent.

“Dr Banner, I’m glad you agreed to come.” Fury said.

Bruce smiled wryly. “Thanks for asking so nicely, Director.” He answered.

Fury’s one eye stared at him for an uncomfortable amount of time before flicking away allowing Bruce to let out a breath of relief. Although he had already read the file, he looked down and began flicking through it once more so that he didn’t have to make small talk with the people he was sure would rather shoot him than talk to him.

He was so engrossed in staring at the photograph of the Tesseract once more that when the door slammed open he actually jumped in surprise.

“I don’t like it when people tell me what to do, Nicky. You know that, Agent knows that; but that didn’t stop you. I was busy, you’re just lucky that file was more interesting than what I was doing and don’t think I haven’t forgotten about you hacking JARVIS!”

Bruce silently gapped as Tony Stark strode into the room like he owned it carrying a large takeaway cup of coffee and waving around his free hand as he complained before ending his speech with a finger pointing in Fury’s direction. Swallowing his surprise at the man’s entrance he shifted in his seat unsurely; although he had never personally met the other man, Bruce had heard of Tony Stark’s genius, of course he would be involved in this. Stark used to create weapons for the military and after his kidnapping in Afghanistan he had created the so called Iron Man armour; which if Bruce was going to be honest with himself, was a technical marvel.  Everywhere Bruce had gone since the…incident with the Gamma radiation, he had been wary of the people he was surrounded by but there was something about Stark…the man’s actions and personality that he had been privy too for all of thirty seconds would usually put Bruce off him immediately, but instead…

Stark seemed to realise that someone else was in the room other than the three SHIELD agents and turned to see Bruce sitting unsurely in his seat on the other side of the table. Their eyes met and fore a split second, Bruce could see a little boy who was just as uncertain and lost as he was before Stark blinked and the image was gone.

“Dr Bruce Banner, it’s good to meet you.” Stark said with a wide grin as he strode across the room with a hand outstretched. “Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled.”

Bruce hesitantly took Stark’s hand and shook it tentatively. “Tony Stark, it’s nice to meet you too.” He greeted slowly.

Stark smirked and then leaned forward as if to share a secret. “I’m also a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster.” He declared before turning and plopping himself into the chair beside Bruce’s own.

“Umm…thanks?” Bruce replied unsurely. Well there was a first for everything, he decided as he leant back into his chair and glanced at Stark from the corner of his eye. The man had taken a tablet out of his jacket pocket and was tapping away happily ignoring the frowns from the agent’s across the room.

“I take it they’ve shown you the labs we’ll be working in?” Tony asked him as he continued to tap at the screen. “It’s a pretty good set up, for someone who isn’t me of course; my labs are much better, but they did what they could with what they had.”

Bruce glanced at the agents who seemed more resigned to Stark insulting them than the actual insult involved. “Yes, Agent Romanov showed me earlier when I arrived.” He answered.

Tony raised his head and smirked. “Ahh, Agent Natasha Romanov, also known as Natalie Rushmore. Don’t let her get close to you, she jabs you with needles in sneaky ninja attacks.” He warned.

“She was giving you a temporary solution to your Palladium poisoning, Stark. She wasn’t trying to kill you, no matter how nice that would have been.” Fury interrupted from the other side of the room.

Stark scoffed and rolled his eyes. “And I bet she enjoyed every second of it.”

“It was rather therapeutic.”

Bruce twitched and looked over to see Agent Romanov standing in the doorway wearing a smirk as she looked over to Tony. The billionaire scowled at her and then pointedly looked back at his tablet and began tapping once more ignoring the room again. Romanov entered the room and it was then that Bruce realised that there were a couple of others in the hallway behind her. Two more people entered the room; a tall and well-muscled blonde man who was followed by a shorter stockier man with dark blonde hair which was messily spike on one side whilst matted down on another; Bruce was inclined to believe the man had either being laying down on something or had only just woken up.

Agent Romanov sat down beside Stark with a smirk as the man twitched ever so slightly as she took her seat. The shorter blonde sat down beside her and the tall man sat beside him after patting him on the shoulder.

“Dr Banner, Stark, you’ve meet Agent Romanov before.” Fury said in introduction as he gestured to the new arrivals. “This Captain Steve Rogers-”

“Captain America?” Stark interrupted sharply lifting his head up and staring at the tall blonde man with narrowed eyes.

Fury sighed and sent Stark an annoyed look. “Yes, also known as Captain America.” He growled.

“Huh, from the way my father talked about him I’d thought he would have been bigger.” Stark said dismissively as he flicked his eyes up and down Rogers.

Steve seemed to bristle at the insinuated insult but it was the shorter man beside him that let out a low hiss in warning to Stark as he pushed abruptly to his feet. Tony wasn’t the only one to raise an eyebrow at the table at the reaction but he was the only one to make a snarky comment about it. “Sorry, did I insult you’re boyfriend, cupcake?”

Fury stopped any further reactions as he slapped his hands onto the table drew everyone’s attention back to him. “Enough! Stark, shut up. Barton, sit your ass down, no matter how much he pisses you off you are not allowed to kill him.”

Barton. That name rang a bell, Bruce thought as he watched the man slowly drop back down into his seat even though he was still scowling darkly at the billionaire. Turning to the table Bruce found himself looking at the dull brown on the file before him as the memory returned. “Jörmungandr.” He whispered to himself quietly.

Not quietly enough, he noticed as he saw heads snap in his direction as the name. Barton was watching him with narrowed blue-green eyes and Bruce felt himself swallowing nervously; even as he felt the Other Guy shift in the back of his mind. Something about the other man just screamed danger and he wasn’t sure he wanted to provoke it.

“Jörmungandr?” Stark asked him, curious about the reaction of the others in the room to the word.

Bruce shifted uncomfortably at the scrutiny and he cleared his throat before answering hesitantly. “Yes, Jörmungandr. The file mentioned that he is one of Loki’s children.” He tapped his finger on the file before him nervously and continued. “When Loki came through the portal created by the Tesseract, he announced that he was looking for his children who had been cast out of Asgard by Odin. Apparently, Agent Barton was one of them; Jörmungandr.”

“Isn’t Jörmungandr supposed to be a giant monster snake?” Stark asked dryly. He looked back at Barton who had turned his death glare on the billionaire. “You don’t look like a giant monster snake, you’re missing the scales and fangs for one thing and you’re kind of on the small side.”

The only reason Stark wasn’t a little smear on the ground; Bruce decided was due to Steve Rogers’ white fingered grip on Barton’s shoulder holding the other man in his seat. Nevertheless, Bruce was kind of impressed that the genius billionaire wasn’t a pile of ashes either, judging from the dark looks he was receiving from Barton and Agent Romanov.

“Speaking off, where is our resident self-proclaimed God of Mischief?” Stark asked clapping his hands together and pointedly looking away from the three people who were trying to kill him via the power of their minds. Bruce was pretty sure it was impossible to do that but considering he was in the room with a Norse deity, he couldn’t be one hundred percent sure of anything. But he was also curious about Loki and wondered why he wasn’t currently in the room with them; as it appeared, so was the Director.

“He’s meditating.” Rogers answered after a few seconds of silence. At the look from Fury he continued explaining. “He said he wanted to gather Intel on how prepared the Chitauri were to attack Earth. Meditation allows him to contact them…or well, something similar to meditation anyway.” He added with a confused look.

“So you left a possible hostile who is able to contact another hostile force, alone?” Fury demanded in disbelief with a, well a _furious_ look at Romanov.

The redhead’s expression never changed as she answered the question, even though Barton and curiously Rogers both bristled at the implication. “I am inclined to belief that he is telling the truth in that he wishes no harm to come to this realm. Doing so will endanger his children.”

Fury scowled and turned to the brunette woman beside him. “Hill, bring up the security cameras in Loki’s rooms on the screen.” He ordered.

The woman nodded and with a quick tap onto a tablet in her hands the spinning SHIELD logo on the screen was replaced by coloured footage of a man sitting cross-legged on the carpeted floor of a room, a golden staff with a glowing blue tip that reminded Bruce of the Tesseract was held upright in one hand whilst the other rested on his lap. His eyes were closed and his face was marred by a small frown of concentration when suddenly he jerked and his head snapped back with a flinch as if he was dodging a blow. Rogers and Barton had jumped to their feet at the sight and they both looked prepared to run out of the room to Loki’s aid but hesitated when Loki spoke softly.

“I am fine, continue with your discussion; we will talk later, I have much to think on.” The dark haired man ordered before a sharp gesture with one hand cut the video feed and the screen turned black. Fury cursed angrily and Hill attempted to get the camera back online once more without success.

“So that’s Loki?” Stark said slowly.

Bruce looked over at the other man curiously. There was something in the billionaire’s tone as he spoke that hinted at something more but the other man said nothing further; only stared at the blank screen with a faint frown. Bruce wondered if Tony felt the same familiarity for Loki as he did.

“Romanov!” Fury snapped drawing everyone’s attention from the screen. “Go and find out what the hell he knows.” He ordered.

An odd expression flickered over the redhead’s face at the demand; Bruce was hesitant to call it fear but she pushed to her feet slowly in preparation to move. She was halted by Barton grasping one of her hands and when she looked at him, the blonde gave her a slight smile and squeezed her hand before releasing it. Natasha’s lips twitched imperceptibly in reply as she turned and left the room to do as Fury asked.

Both Barton and Rogers stared at the door she had left through for several seconds before Coulson called attention back to the meeting at hand and the pair regretfully turned to him. Bruce was curious about the interaction between the three, but decided to keep any observations to himself until he could work out a definitive reason for their actions and tuned in to listen to Coulson talking about Thanos and the Chitauri.


	6. Chapter 6

Natasha strode firmly down the hallway to Loki’s quarters as if she wasn’t bothered by her destination, or more likely the person she was to see at her destination. Loki’s words from earlier continued to ring through her head as she walked. _Like yours, my dear daughter, is Hel._ Hel, the half dead, half alive ruler of Niflheim and the deceased. An apt description as one could be, she thought idly. When Loki had announced it, she wasn’t sure what to think. Of course, there was the off chance that he had somehow brainwashed Clint and Rogers both and was now trying to brainwash her but there was some small part of her that believed he was telling the truth.

She knew the moment she had set eyes on him, that Loki was important somehow. The tiny little part of herself that she had managed to protect through the torture and pain of her past, knew it was true. Just like it knew that Clint Barton was telling the truth all those years ago when he dropped down in front of her in the alley in Budapest and asked her to join him without fear of death. Natasha snorted at the memory; if Loki was telling the truth, it explained why she felt the connection with Clint. A connection she had tried to deny even existed, much to her partner’s continued amusement and her annoyance. Natasha didn’t like connections to others; connections could be exploited. Loki’s situation now was evidence enough that such things caused difficulties. Then again, she had never seen Clint ever act the way he had with Rogers and Loki before and she knew the longing she had experienced at the sight had pretty much already made the decision for her as he approached the closed door to Loki’s quarters.

_‘I can return you memories to you. Memories of your real childhood, of your real family. Not all of them will be joyful, but then again, not all of them will be painful.’_

_‘I don’t trust you; so, no.’_

Shaking away the memory and steeling herself, Natasha reached up a hand and knocked politely on the door. A few seconds later the door opened to reveal Loki standing on the other side with a hopeful look in his blue eyes. “Can I come in?” She asked.

The dark haired man nodded and stepped back to allow her access and then closed the door behind her before moving to stand in the middle of the room anxiously. Natasha coolly watched him fidget for several seconds before she moved and sat down on the edge of the couch she had been on earlier. “Fury wants to know what you have found out.” She stated.

Loki’s face shuttered before he sat down on the couch opposite. “They are amassing an army the size of which has never been seen before. This realm is vastly outmatched, even with the technology it possesses.”

Natasha nodded thoughtfully, keeping any other expression other than blankness off her face. She held the upper hand here; she knew what Loki wanted and in giving him what he wanted she would lose her high position. “Fury is putting together a specialised team, as you know.” She stated referring to the Avengers Initiative. “It contains Rogers, Barton and I along with two others. Tony Stark and Dr Bruce Banner; both of which who have…specialised skills, if they can be trusted to work together. It may help.”

Loki’s face twisted into concern at the announcement that his children will be part of the team taking on Thanos. Natasha firmly stamped down the rising wave of warmth she felt at the look; _no connections!_ She told herself angrily.

“Stark and Banner?” Loki asked quietly. “What skills do they bring?”

Natasha debated over not answering, but she knew that Loki was the only one who knew how powerful Thanos’ army was; he could determine whether or not they had a chance of stopping them. “Stark is an engineering genius; he’s created a weaponized suit of armour that can take out a large force easily, I’ll send you his file. Banner is a scientist; he was working on a super soldier formula and tested it on himself, however it went…wrong.” She paused as she tried to think over how to explain Banner’s alter ego. “Whenever his heart rate goes over a certain level he changes form. We call it the Hulk; an indestructible killing machine that is very, very angry.”

“The Hulk?” Loki asked curiously.

“I’ll send you his file too.” She said. “It’s hard to explain unless you have seen it.”

Loki nodded quietly and interlocked his fingers under his chin as he thought over what Natasha had told him. “Whilst I am not fond of the idea that my children will be put directly in harm’s way; humanity has no chance taking on Thanos and the Chitauri alone.” He took a deep breath before locking his pale eyes on her own. “You will have a higher chance of surviving this oncoming battle if I were to unlock this binds on your abilities and memories.”

Natasha forcefully turned her gaze away and looked at the wall behind his head. She heard Loki’s breath hitch at the action and felt a wave of guilt. She knew her refusal to allow Loki to unbind her memories was haunting him, but it wasn’t easy for her to allow it. The small part begging for her to let it happen was vastly outnumbered by the remainder that was firmly of the decision that allowing any sort of familial connection to form would be detrimental. But he did, unfortunately, have a point. She could feel the differences that both Rogers and Clint had after being ‘awoken’ by Loki; she knew they were both stronger for it. If Natasha wanted to survive this oncoming battle she was going to have to give in.

“Fine.” She relented.

Loki looked momentarily startled before his expression morphed into one of satisfaction. He had pushed to his feet and pulled the golden staff from nowhere before he halted upon seeing the wary look on her face and the stiff way she held herself in her seat. “I will not allow any pain to come to you, Hel.” He said softly as he reached out hand and gently grasped hers.

Natasha swallowed and tilted her chin up to hide her fear; she had already made her decision and she was not going to back out of it. “Do it.” She ordered firmly.

Loki’s lips quirked at her imperious tone and he slowly raised the staff to place the tip against her breastbone. She kept her eyes firmly locked on his as the staff pulsed and a small wave of blue energy washed over them. She wasn’t sure what to expect; she knew it wasn’t going to be painful but she also was not expecting the influx of images and memories that caused her to gasp sharply in shock.

Flashes of colour and sights flew passed her unseeing eyes; the image of a childish and unscarred Clint laughing freely as he ran through a meadow chased by a giggling Steve, the smell of roses and vanilla as a soft gentle female voice singing lulled her to sleep, the feeling of safety and warmth as she was held, wrapped in a soft blanket to her father’s chest even as loud voices argued angrily above her and finally the image of an old one eyed man in golden armour glaring down at her and her brothers before slamming down his staff and causing everything to go black.

Natasha was barely aware of the soft cry she let out at the last memory as she slipped off the couch and onto the floor. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her body and pull her close and she instinctively fought back, pushing away to escape the grip but was unsuccessful. Natasha felt her panic rising as her head rested against the man’s chest and still she continued struggling to escape. It took several seconds for her to realise that the odd sensation she had been feeling on the side of her face was the man’s ribcage vibrating as he sang; it was several seconds more until she recognised the tune as one she had heard long ago. She slowly began to lessen her struggles though Loki only continued to hold her gently and sing; eventually Natasha was still in his arms and she lay limply as she listened to the song Angrboða has crooned to her as a lullaby.

When Loki’s soft words faded the silence rang in her ears. With her memories intact, Natasha found herself in a unique situation. Both her history on Asgard and on Earth clashed in her mind and she wasn’t sure what to believe; what was true and what wasn’t? Both were technically true were they not? She was only a child when Odin had banished her to Midgard, she had grown up under the watchful eye of the Red Room no matter what life she had lived on Asgard.

She abruptly pulled away from Loki and pushed to her feet, brushing her hair out of her face she looked down at the kneeling man with cool eyes. “This changes nothing.” She declared. “Just because I know the truth now doesn’t mean I trust you like my brothers do.”

She saw the hurt flash in Loki’s eyes before slow acceptance formed on his face. “I understand, Hel. I hope you will trust me in the future to come.” He said quietly.

Natasha pursed her lips but nodded in return. “I need to report to Fury.” She declared before turning sharply and leaving Loki alone in the room.

* * *

Tony wasn’t inclined to give someone else praise but he had to give SHIELD credit; the labs on the Helicarrier were pretty good. He wasn’t about to say that out of course, that would make Fury think he liked them; besides he had already told Banner that his personal ones were better (they still were by the way). _Speaking of Banner_ , Tony thought as he looked at the man on the other side of the lab hunched over a microscope; he was pretty skittish for a guy who could turn into a giant green rage monster who was nigh on indestructible. From what Tony had seen in the past hour or so of being in the scientist’s presence, Banner had veered away from any form of touch, attempted to avoid bringing attention to his self and wedged himself in the corner of the lab away from everyone. That would just simply not do, Tony was curious and when he was curious about something he tended to get bull-headed and poke and prod until he got what he wanted; just ask Pepper.

Having come to a decision, the billionaire picked up one of the miniature electric sticks off the desk before him; seriously, why did they need mini cattle prods on the Helicarrier? What _did_ SHIELD scientists get up too? _Note to self: Hack Helicarrier computers to find out their secrets_. Casually, he sauntered across the lab; fingers of his free hand reaching out and touching things that caught his attention as he passed. “You know, you should stop by Stark Tower sometime, top ten floors are all R  & D. You’d love it, it’s candy land.” He said.

Bruce raised his head and gave him a wane smile. “Last time I was in New York I kind of…broke Harlem.”

True. Tony sucked on his lower lip thoughtfully and nodded as he walked closer before dismissing the comment with a wave of his hands. “Well I promise a stress free environment.” He said as he joined Banner at the desk, he poked the top of the microscope with a finger and then continued to walk slowly behind the scientist’s back. “No tension, no surprises.” He said before spinning and jabbing the shock device into Banner’s unprotected side. Banner yelped in surprise and Tony leaned in and squinted at the man’s face inquisitively. “What, nothing?” he asked when he found not even a slight change in colour of the man’s skin tone. Tony wasn’t quite sure if he was disappointed or relieved; he had after all left the Suit in the armoury because Fury was a controlling paranoid bastard and all he had for protection was an Armani suit and a Gucci tie. “You really have a lid on it don’t you?” he asked curiously. “What’s your secret? Mellow Jazz? Bongo drums? Huge bag of weed?”

“Stark, please refrain from any further attempts of bringing out the Hulk. Both Dr Banner, the accounting department and your legal team would not thank you for it if you succeeded.”

Tony turned around to see Coulson standing politely in the door like the sneaky boring ninja he was. “Agent!” he called out spreading in arms in welcome. “What brings you to my lair?”

“Considering the lab is part of the SHIELD Helicarrier, I think you will find that it is our lair, not yours.” Coulson retorted before walking into the room and placing a couple of tablets onto the nearest desk. “These contain files with the relevant information on your teammates, please study them; we want you to be able to work well in the field together.”

Tony hid his interest behind an expression of distain. “Is Natalie really going to be on this team? Because I don’t think I want to be on the same team as someone who sneaks up and jabs people in the neck with suspicious liquid filled syringes.”

“ _Natasha,_ is going to be on this team, yes. You could always refuse, Stark.” Coulson stated with a raised eyebrow. “But then if you did, you wouldn’t be privy what we were doing.” He finished with a bland smile.

Tony narrowed his eyes at the man; Agent knew one of his weaknesses and he was right damn him; Tony’s curiosity would drive him insane. _You win this round._ Tony thought as he watched Coulson bid Banner farewell before leaving the room. Deciding to ignore any further insult he turned to the tablets and snatched the closest before moving across the lab to sit on a computer chair and flicked it on. Neat little folders with the names of each of his teammates were on the screen before him; whilst he had probably already hacked a majority of this information out of SHIELD computers before he was curious to see if they had added anything further. Barton’s was going to be interesting if that little scene in the meeting room meant anything. He was about to open the man’s file when he caught his own name out of the corner of his eye; maybe he’d check to see what else SHIELD had come up with on him since Romanov’s report first. Selecting his own file, Tony opened it and then leaned back on his chair; might as well make himself comfortable as he read.

_Name, age, codename_ …boring, he already knew that information. Skipping through the first few pages he continued onwards to see if there was anything new however judging from what he could see, it didn’t look like there was anything. _Observations_. Oooh…Sitting up straighter in his chair Tony began reading the observations SHIELD had made about him.

_Arrogant, Intelligent, Narcissistic, Genius…_ huh, maybe there wasn’t anything new. _Doesn’t follow orders, prone to going off on his own, not likely to work as a team._ Yeah okay, nothing new there. Closing the file he returned to his original mission and opened Barton’s.

**_Name: ~~Clinton Francis Barton~~ Jörmungandr Lokison_ **

**_Code Name: Hawkeye_ **

**_ Age: ~~30~~ Unknown_ **

**_D.OB: ~~October 8, 1982~~ Unknown_ **

**_Place of Birth: ~~Cleveland, Ohio~~ Realm of Asgard_ **

**_Gender: Male_ **

**_Height: 5’10_ **

**_Father: ~~Harold Barton (deceased)~~ Loki Laufeyson_ **

**_Mother: ~~Edith Barton (deceased)~~ Angrboða (deceased) _ **

**_Siblings: ~~Charles Bernard “Barney” Barton (brother, deceased)~~ Fenrir Lokison(unknown), Hel Lokisdottir(unknown), Vali Lokison(unknown), Narfi Lokison (unknown)_ **

**_Affiliation: ~~United States of America, SHIELD,~~ TBC_ **

Tony raised his eyebrow as he read and couldn’t help but let a small smirk climb onto his face. Apparently Loki’s arrival changed Barton, sorry, _Jörmungandr’s_ file a bit and SHIELD didn’t know what to do with him.

**_Abilities/skills: Master Archer, expert marksman, master swordsman, high level martial arts expert, enhanced eyesight, experienced pilot, acrobatic, superb athlete, trained in tactics and espionage. Has reputation for ‘turning any object into a weapon’, see Section F: Paragraph 6 for further details. Asgardian abilities unknown._ **

_**Equipment: High tech customized recurve bow, customized and automated quiver, customized ‘trick arrows’ see Section F: Paragraph 3 for further details.** _

Wait, what? A bow? Barton used a bow and arrows?! Tony lowered the tablet in disgust and looked over to see that Banner was reading through his own with an intent look on his face. “Are you reading this?” Tony called out waving his tablet in the air.

Bruce looked up at him. “Yes…? I mean, I’m reading over everyone’s files like Coulson said to.” he said hesitantly.

“No, this!” Tony repeated scathingly stabbing the tablet with a pointed finger. “Barton’s file! He uses bows and arrows. _Bows and arrows_. What self-respecting superhero uses bows and arrows to fight the bad guys?! This isn’t the Stone Age anymore. God, he could at least use a gun, but no; _I have to use tools from sixteen thousand years ago!_ ”

Banner eyed him cautiously from the other side of the room. “His arrow heads are high tech. They can be explosive, release chemicals; the tear gas and crowd control ones look interesting. The report mentioned that he actually worked alongside R & D to create most of his weaponry; it’s actually rather remarkable, I wouldn’t mind talking to him about how he has to adjust to the weights of each arrow and how they affect his accu-”

“No.” Tony interrupted shaking his head. “Just no. I am not going have my life hang in the balance so some guy who uses _bows and arrows_ in this day and age can watch my six.” He grumbled.

“Mr Stark-”

“Tony, call me Tony. Mr Stark was my dad and we didn’t get along.”

“Tony. You can call me Bruce.” Banner allowed. “What I was saying was that if SHIELD considers Barton to be one of their most skilled-”

“Nope!” Tony interrupted again, this time spinning his chair around so that his back was to Bruce further cutting off the topic of debate. “Not happening!” he called.

Tony bowed his head and peeked around the side of the chair at the scientist, hiding his smirk as Bruce heaved an irritated sigh. “He is the son of a God, and from the reports of the incident in New Mexico last year, his uncle exhibited some amazing abilities. If they are the norm for Asgard…” Bruce trailed off with a thoughtful look on his face.

“Hmmm.” Tony pondered over the last statement thoughtfully. Bruce had a point; the video files he had hacked into on the New Mexico incident were very interesting, and from what he had seen so far on Loki; which admittedly wasn’t much at all, irritatingly so; then the archer did have some promise he supposed. “He gets one chance.” He allowed monogamously.

“I’m sure he will appreciate it.” Bruce replied dryly.

“Captain America.” Tony declared spinning his chair abruptly back to face Bruce. “Your thoughts on our nation’s greatest hero?”

Bruce shifted uncomfortably, clearly hesitant to say his thoughts out loud. “He seems like a nice guy.” He offered.

Tony rolled his eyes. “A nice guy.” He deadpanned. “Anything else you have to say about him, other than he’s a ‘nice guy’?”

Bruce cleared his thought and glanced down at the tablet in his hands. “Well, from what his file says, Captain Rogers is has sound tactical training, is an expert in hand to hand combat-”

“Yes, yes. I read that too, you know.” Tony interrupted again. “But what do _you_ think?”

There was a few minutes silence as Bruce thought it over. Tony occupied his himself by spinning his chair around and around; it wasn’t childish no matter how many times Pepper told him he wasn’t allowed to do it in board meetings.

“Well, from what I have read about him and what I saw in the briefing room earlier; I’m inclined to say that the SHIELD report pretty much got it right. Captain Rogers seems like a man who is steady in his beliefs and with the Super Serum, a highly trained soldier with a sound tactical mind.”

“He believes in the notion of Good and Evil, you mean. Unfortunately, he will discover that things aren’t so black and white in our world; everything exists in shades of grey. Take SHIELD for example; they regularly lie, kill for and steal information in the name of national security. I wonder what our fine Captain thinks of that. Also!” Tony continued holding up a finger to make a point. “Did you know he isn’t actually a Captain? Rogers was just a Private when he was selected for the Super Soldier Program, they only tacked on the title when he was doing the ASO tours and the name stuck. So really, he’s Private Rogers, not Captain.”

Bruce gave him a stern look from over his glasses and Tony fought the urge not to pout. “Now, you’re just being picky. Is there anyone on this team you do like?” Bruce asked exasperated.

“I like you.” Tony said perking up. “Remember? Fan of the giant green rage monster thing you’ve got going.”

Bruce winced and hunched back into is seat. “Believe it or not, the Other Guy isn’t actually a benefit.”

“You know, I’ve got a cluster of shrapnel, trying every second to crawl its way into my heart.” Tony declared tapping a finger against the arc reactor casing in his chest after allowing a few moments of silence to fill the room. “This stops it, this little circle of light. It’s part of me now, not just the armour. It’s a terrible privilege.”

Bruce glanced at the small light emitting from his chest with a sad expression before looking away and returning to the tablet. “But you can control it.” He answered.

Tony eyed the man before him sombre expression. “Because I learnt how. Look, I’ve read all about your accident; hard not to, it was all over the news. That much gamma exposure should have killed you.” He said earnestly leaning forward in the chair to rest his forearms against his knees.

Bruce gave a sharp chuckle. “So, what? You’re saying that the Hulk, the Other Guy, save my life? That’s nice. That’s a nice sentiment. Saved it for what?” he asked looking back up at Tony with a slightly angry expression.

Tony spread his hands and leaned back into the chair. “I guess we’ll find out.” He answered.


	7. Chapter 7

Silence. It was one of the few things that Loki could recall with certainty from his fall. The dead silence where he could open his mouth to scream and nothing could be heard. The second was the darkness; as the Void was without light or colour. As he had fallen, the Bifrost slowly shrank into the distance, the bright rainbow colours fading from view until only a thin strip of light the thickness of a needle could be seen until that too disappeared from sight and he was surrounded by the deep black.

He had fallen for what seemed like years, centuries, millennia until suddenly he wasn’t falling any more. Then came the pain; so much pain. Loki had thought such agony was non-existent until he experienced it. Screams had echoed in the air and Loki had welcomed the sound after so long with silence, it was only when the screams stopped as he gasped in a pained mouthful of air that he had realised that the screams came from him. Eventually, after much too long a wait, he had been blessed with unconsciousness and the memory of the pain faded.

It was when he had awoken next and found himself surrounded by the screeching clicking language of the native race that Loki discovered true pain. But amidst the agony and screams, he learnt. The Other was intelligent but Loki was called the Trickster and Liesmith for a reason and he discovered many things during his time as a prisoner on their cold dark world. The Chitauri had a formidable army but they, much like most races in the Nine Realms, bowed to a larger threat that hovered over them in the shadows. Thanos. The name was whispered in hushed breaths amongst the creature race; it was a name that echoed with familiarity in the back of Loki’s mind, chased by a wave of unnamed feeling he refused to call fear.

Whilst Thor and his friends had gone off on his idiotic quests with their pointless fights for glory, Loki had pursued Asgard’s massive libraries and discovered long forgotten lore and secrets. The name Thanos was one of these; an Eternal, a nigh on immortal being that could control the energy of the cosmos. Loki had of course thought the notion of such a being as ludicrous and dismissed it from his mind. Oh how wrong he had been.

The news he had learnt whilst temporarily on the throne of Asgard had faded into the background; the thought of ever seeing his beloved children again gone whilst in the hands of the Chitauri. It was only when the Other mentioned the Tesseract that through the pain Loki’s mind once more began to work. The cube, one of Odin’s lost treasures; it had interested Loki as a child, the legend of the missing relic lost on the world of humanity. Midgard, the realm where Odin had cast out three of his children; the world on which Loki had hidden his last two. Thanos needed the Tesseract; Loki needed to find his children…

Loki remembered smirking up at his tormentor as a plan formed in his mind, the confused creature torturing him had paused at the sight of the God of Mischief’s smile when he should have been screaming in pain and with a snarl had twisted the blade deeper. Instead of screaming, Loki’s bloodied lips widened into a shark-like grin.

It had taken time, but eventually Loki had managed to convince the Other that he would secure the Tesseract and in return garner use of the Chitauri army to conquer Midgard. The Other had gifted him with magics and a sceptre that superseded even Odin’s Gungnir. The sceptre was linked to the Tesseract, so when Loki performed the required ritual he would appear near the cube and begin preparations to create a portal which would release the Chitauri; of course Loki had other plans; plans that were only now beginning to come into fruition.

Three of his five missing children had been found; those begat by his first wife and cast out by Odin. It was strange that he had found them within days of each other and so close to the Tesseract; Loki was sure the Norns were playing tricks on him in some way; he just had to figure out what their ploy was. The way things were falling into his lap after arriving on Midgard, he could almost assume that he could walk down the hall and find his other two children discussing theories over the bitter heated beverage so many of the mortals drank. Loki snorted to himself at the wayward thought and dismissed it from his mind; if things were only so easy. He knew that the mortal’s dalliances with the Tesseract had drawn the attentions of the Chitauri and Thanos; there was no doubt that it had also drawn the attentions of Odin and Asgard. The result was clear; the All-father would send an envoy to claim the cube and return it to the golden realm and there was only one obvious choice for the job; Thor.

The great oaf would normally be easy to lead off on a false trail but unfortunately as a result of his banishment to Midgard, Thor had learnt that not all problems could be solved by brute strength but that they require thought and finesse; both of which the golden haired man lacked considerably however. While Thor wasn’t a complete idiot; he couldn’t be as the son of Odin, Loki outmatched him by a large stretch. All he had to do was keep Thor occupied elsewhere while Loki worked on his plans; that and keep his children out of sight of the larger warrior. Thor had no love for his children years ago, it was likely he would have no love for them now; nor would he have any qualms about trying to kill them now that they were fully grown into adulthood. Loki uncrossed his legs and slowly pushed to his feet, he spelled the sceptre away in its little pocket of space and time and made his way over to a table in the corner of the room and poured himself a much needed drink whilst he mused.

He was correct in his comment to his children that he need time to think over the meeting but it was mostly a delaying tactic as he already had a vague outline of a plan to deal with the damned creatures. No, he needed to think of a way to distract Thor who was no doubt preparing to depart for Midgard shortly. Loki pursed his lips in faint amusement at the thought of Odin having to expend so much energy to send his son to Midgard after the idiot had destroyed the Bifrost during Loki’s misguided attempt to prove himself worthy to the old fool. The smirk changed to a frown at the last thought; Odin was a hypocrite; calling Loki’s own children monsters when the old man raised a monster as his own. Like he was some kind of pet that he could train into obedience; it also explained Odin’s distain of Loki’s children. They were after all half Jötunn, an unfortunate fact Loki himself hadn’t discovered until a year ago. Even so, after all they had gone through, Loki thought with a faint smile of pride, his children had risen to the challenge thrown their way and overcome the many obstacles in their way. No, as Jörmungandr had said earlier; those on Asgard were the real monsters and Thor’s expected arrival and actions will prove that above all else.

Loki would wait a few days before searching for the twins. He needed to plan for Thor’s arrival no matter how much the urge to find his two missing children grated on his conscience. Besides he had vague ideas of their locations; he hadn’t sent them to Midgard alone after all. If he could track down the mortal’s he had chosen to guide them, he would find the twins easily enough. It was only a matter of finding Rica and Eldgrim and where they had taken his children.

Decision made, Loki moved across the room to sit in one of the plush couches and began to form his plan of attack to keep Thor occupied; it would require a great deal of finesse if he wanted to keep the human organisation SHIELD from suspecting too much and getting in the way. While he didn’t particularly care for the mortals on this world, his children most likely would have formed some sort of attachment to it and it would be highly unlikely they would be welcome back to Asgard.

 

* * *

 

 

“Director Fury! We just got massive energy readings out of nowhere and then they just disappeared, fifty miles north east of our position.” One of the technicians called out from behind his console.

Tony’s head shot up from where he had been doodling absently on a notepad in boredom; this had the possibility of being interesting. His brown eyes flickered over to watch Fury stalk across the room along with Coulson and peer at the screen the tech was gesturing to.

“The readings…they’re similar to a year ago in New Mexico when Thor first appeared.” Coulson said as he shot a look toward the director.

Tony’s eyes narrowed at the comment and he casually pulled out his tablet and turned it on. It was time to see if JARVIS had hacked into the SHIELD system yet. The small files they had been given regarding the so called Gods had been censored and he wanted to know _everything_ about the situation. The billionaire smirked to himself when a little green notification popped up reading ACCESS GRANTED. “Good job, J.” he murmured quietly.

“ _It’s a pleasure to be of service, Sir.”_ The AI responded promptly over the small earwig Tony was wearing. “ _I have been going through the files and highlighted those that would interest you the most; those labelled yellow are related to Thor and the Incident in New Mexico. Green is everything related to the Tesseract Project and Red is related to Project Rebirth.”_

Tony’s fingers paused at the last and his jaw tightened slightly before he continued browsing. Project Rebirth; of course SHIELD’s greasy little spy hands would be all over it. Shoving away any further thought on the project, Tony returned to looking over the files relating to Thor. Coulson was right; the readings did match those gathered a year ago when the supposed God had arrived on Earth. Things were about to get interesting if the mysterious Loki was to be believed.

“Assemble the team.” Fury directed to Coulson as he straightened. Tony raised an eyebrow in the man’s direction as he turned to stare at the billionaire. “That means you too, Stark.”

Tony closed the tablet and leaned back into his chair. “You know I don’t play well with others, Fury.”

“It’s a two pm on a Thursday, Stark. Start consulting and get your ass into that suit before I shove you in there myself. And if I have to resort to that method you may or may not be right way up.” Fury growled taking a threatening step forward.

Tony raised his hands apologetically and pushed himself to his feet. “Fine, be that way. But I reserve the right to say I told you so when the other kids get their panties in a twist and run home to complain to daddy.” He warned before turning and heading toward the armoury. Tony smirked slightly at the grumbled muttering from Fury’s direction as he left before the smiled dropped from his face and his mind began running over the information he had garnered from the uncensored reports on Thor. This was going to be an interesting fight if it got down to it; of course Captain Spangles was going to want to go in diplomatically but Tony was going to be prepared, just in case.

 

* * *

 

“Are you sure assembling the Avengers to greet Thor is the right decision, Sir? The WSC isn’t going to like it.” Hill asked from beside the Director.

Fury crossed his arms and looked out over the view provided by the windows in the control room. “Last time I checked, I was in charge of SHIELD not the World Security Council, Hill.”

Hill ducked her head apologetically. “Sorry, Sir.” She stated still wearing a small frown. “Stark isn’t known for his diplomacy skills.” She added warningly.

Fury’s lips twitched in amusement. “Which is why Rogers will be going, he’s less likely to shoot first and ask questions later.”

“Oh I wouldn’t be so sure about that, Director.”

Both Fury and Hill jerked around quickly with their hands reaching for the weapons on their waists as they took in the lean figure dressed in black and green that was not supposed to have had access to the control room.

“Loki.” Fury growled. “Aren’t you supposed to be in your rooms?” The words ‘where we can keep an eye on you’ were left unspoken but were obvious in their absence.

The god of mischief smiled as he walked through the rows of wide-eyed technicians to stand beside the Director and his deputy.

“What did you mean about Rogers?” Hill demanded looking fearlessly up at the cold blue eyes that were staring down at her.

Loki’s smile widened and his hands spread out to his sides. “Appearances can be deceptive.” He replied as he turned away from the pair to look around the control room in interest.

“So you have said before.” Coulson stated from where he had come to a stop beside Fury and Hill. “Captain Rogers is a man of integrity and justice; he is the least likely to attack unprovoked out of the entire team.”

Loki threw back his head and laughed, the loud noise shattering the tense silence in the room. “Oh I like this!” he cried in amusement. “You think you know a man’s heart and mind, Agent Coulson? How can you, when he hadn’t even known it himself?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Loki’s grin widened and he bowed his head slightly to chuckle before lifting it once more to stare at the trio. “Steven Rogers is a leader, is he not? He protects the men under his command with fierceness not unlike an alpha wolf protecting his pack.”

“What has that got to do wi-" Coulson cut himself off mid-word and then stood staring at Loki is shock with his mouth opening and closing silently.

“Coulson?” Fury asked shooting his right hand man a concerned look.

“Yes, I win the pool baby!”

The triumphant shout from the doorway drew everyone’s attention to Agent Barton who had his arms up in the air and was parading around with a wide grin. “Ten thousand big ones!”

“Actually, I think Loki wins the pool not you.” Agent Romanov declared as she slid around the dancing archer and entered the room with much more poise then her partner. “After all, he was the one to cause the reaction, not you.”

Barton froze and a small frown crossed his face before her comment sunk in and he dropped his hands back to his sides defeated. “Well shit.” He muttered under his breath, shooting a scowl at the redhead’s back before he brightened and danced across the room and latched onto Loki’s arm. “You’ll share with me, right Dad?” he asked with a wide grin.

Coulson made a pained wheezing noise at the question and Fury shot the man another concerned look. “Someone want to tell me what the hell is going on here?!” he demanded, crossing his arms and glaring at his people and Loki while he waiting for the answer.

“I believe Agent Coulson has become aware of the fact that another of my children has been found; he is simply in shock as to who it is.” Loki drawled in amusement.

“Another of your children.” Fury deadpanned. “Let me guess, it’s another one of my people?”

“Well, I’m not sure he is officially part of SHIELD yet but you can be correct in your assumption that you know of him, yes.” Loki answered.

Fury frowned and looked at the people before him; it being someone not an official member of SHIELD narrowed it down considerably as there was a limited amount of people on board the Helicarrier that could fit that description. He glanced at Coulson once more from the side of his eye and then realization struck; there was only one thing that could possibly have resulted in the man’s stupefied reaction. “Well, shit.” He cursed under his breath raising a hand to scrub at his face in despair. “This complicates things.”

Hill recovered faster than either of the two men; something for which Fury had chosen her for the position as Second-in-command for. “Rogers is Fenrir, I presume?” she asked and received a nod in reply. “So that leaves only the twins and your daughter?” she asked.

The sound of a throat clearing drew the attention of everyone in the room to Agent Romanov who was standing behind a computer console and resting her hands lightly on the desk. “Actually…” she began with a faint shrug and a glance toward Loki.

At the look Fury got a sinking feeling in his stomach and he closed his eye and bowed his head took a deep breath and counted to ten. _What is the everlasting motherfucking shit?!_ He screamed internally before realising his breath in a gusty sigh and looking back up at the group before him. “What is the most likely reaction Thor will have upon seeing Rogers, Barton and Romanov?” he asked Loki.

A dark look appeared on the god’s face and Fury didn’t miss the slightly flinch Barton had at Thor’s name nor the way the grip on his father’s arm tightened.

“His first response?” Loki said after a few seconds of thought. “More than likely not, he will respond with force unless he can be reasoned with.”

The last earned a scoff from Barton which Fury ignored; the man had reason apparently. “How likely is he to reason with them?” The director asked.

“Reason with my children?” Loki asked in amusement. “Not likely at all, there is one person in this realm he may listen to however.”

“You?” Hill scoffed. “Didn’t you try to kill him?”

Loki shot her a dark look which silenced any further comment’s she was going to make. “No, not me.” He snapped as if talking to a child who didn’t understand something simple. “The woman he met in New Mexico; the doctor.”

“Jane Foster.” Coulson stated obviously finally making his way out of his shock and beginning to think again. “He had a connection with her; she was working alongside Selvig on the Tesseract Project; she’s on board and it may just work.”

Fury thought it over; there was the possibility that it wouldn’t work, but Coulson was right, Thor had formed a connection with the Doctor in New Mexico and she may be able to distract the Thunder God for long enough for them to prepare. “Do it.” He ordered. “Send Stark and his suit along as backup, if it comes to it he can fly her out of there if he needs to.”

Coulson and Hill nodded quickly and moved off to do as he bid and Fury turned to look at the remaining three before him. “You two are confined to your quarters until further notice; if you see Rogers on the way tell him he is too.” He ordered shooting his two best agents a dark look. The pair exchanged glances with each other and Loki before slowly moving forward and leaving the control room. Fury wasn’t stupid; the pair would more than like go to their rooms like they were told before escaping through the vents to meet up somewhere where they could plot. He’d let them, it was always nice to have a backup plan. He turned toward Loki had gestured for the god to follow him. “You’re coming with me. We’ll hook into Stark’s video feed so you can provide any further information and warn him in case you see Thor try something he doesn’t notice.”

“But of course.” Loki allowed graciously as if it had been a request rather than an order and he followed Fury up the stairs and to a side room where a couple of technicians were hooking up several screens.

Fury shot the god a dark look and crossed his arms as he watched the screens change from snow to that of a view from Stark’s helmet camera. He was pretty sure Loki had other plans in the works but he was damned if he wasn’t going to take advantage of the God’s knowledge while he could.

* * *

 

 

“You ready for this, Doc?” Tony asked looking down at the petite form of Doctor Jane Foster standing before him.

“Of course I am.” Foster replied with a determined tilt to her chin.

Tony politely ignored the faint tremor in her voice as he reached out to wrap his armoured arms around her waist and directed her to hold on tight. A second later she let out a shriek of surprise as the suit blasted them into the air and off the Helicarrier deck and toward direction of the energy fluctuations. Tony was protected from the frigid air by the suit and Foster was dressed in what looked like SHIELD issue artic gear; the heavy down parker and pants, boots and a full mask to protect her face from the biting cold which was connected to a small tank of oxygen allowing her to breathe comfortably.

“ _Predicted contact with approaching target is approximately three point six minutes at current speeds, Sir.”_ JARVIS stated over the comms.

Tony made a noise in acknowledgement and adjusted his grip on Foster so as not to drop her while she squirmed. “Once we get closer, start scanning the area; reports say he can fly so keep an eye out.” Tony ordered.

“ _Of course, Sir.”_

The pair flew in silence for several more minutes before Tony’s HUD beeped and an object appeared circled in red. _“Target located. Approximately ten point four miles north east of our position, contact in fifteen point eight seconds.”_

“Go time.” Tony murmured to himself. “Okay Doctor, we’ve found him. Contact in less than ten seconds, I hope you’re ready.” He said over the external speakers. He saw Foster nod her head and smirked at the determined expression that crossed her face. The distance from the target on his HUD decreased by the second until Tony could see the blurred red and black shape in the distance with his own eyes. He zoomed in on it and despite reading the reports and seeing the videos of the god in question he couldn’t help but feel an apprehensive shiver go down his spine when they caught his attention.

Tony slowed to a stop until he was hovering several miles above the ground and despite that fact Foster twisted around fearlessly in his hold until she was facing the slowing Asgardian.

“Thor!” she called out waving in in greeting as he approached. “It’s me, Jane!”

Tony watched as the god slowed to a stop until he was hovering opposite them, held up only by the fact he was whirling his hammer around above his head; Tony had to literally bite his tongue at the fact that the Asgardian was defying physics with his little action.

“Lady Jane!” Thor boomed loudly in return; Tony hastily had JARVIS dial down the speakers in his helmet. “It is good to see you!” he looked over Tony is his Iron Man suit and tilted his head in confusion. “This creation is yours?” he asked. “It is most wonderful.”

Tony felt smug satisfaction at the praise even as Foster denied it. “The suit? Oh no, it’s not mine!” she laughed nervously. “No, it was created by Tony Stark. Um…Tony this is Thor, Thor this is Tony.” She said hesitantly, waving a hand between the two in introduction.

Thor turned his eyes away from Jane and then looked over the suit once more. “Greetings, Metal Man.” Thor said slowly as he took note of Tony’s hands wrapped around Jane’s waist.

“It’s actually Iron Man, not Metal Man.” Tony corrected. “Nice cape.” He added with a smirk behind his helmet even as Thor frowned.

“ _Stark, don’t provoke the Thunder God.”_ Coulson warned over the comm.

“You mind landing for the remainder of our little talk? Personally I love flying but I don’t think the doctor likes it as much.” Tony said nodding in the direction of the ground.

Thor took note of Jane’s pale face and nodded before slowly descending towards the earth. A second later Tony and Jane followed him down until they came to a rest on a small empty cove near the ocean. Tony grimaced as he touched down; sand was such a bitch to clean out of the hydraulics. He let Foster go after they landed and she threw off the face mask and jogged over to where Thor had landed.

“Thor!” she called again before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug.

The god laughed, dropping his hammer which landed on the sand with an all too heavy sounding thud and picked her up spinning her around in circles. “My Lady Jane!”

“Well,” Tony muttered loud enough to be picked up by the comms but not by the god. “There’s a weakness if I ever did see one.” On the Helicarrier unseen by the billionaire, Loki smirked glad to be proven right.

Tony cleared his throat pointedly and Thor slowly placed Jane back onto the ground and looked over to him but it was Jane who spoke after flushing red upon realising her actions. “It’s great seeing you and all, but why are you here?” she asked the blonde. It was then that Tony realised that Foster hadn’t been told all the details about the Tesseract and the Asgardians; trust Fury to keep people in the dark.

Thor beamed at her before a serious look crossed his face and he bent to pick up his hammer and attach it to his belt. “I bring grave news.” He began looking solemn. “My brother; Loki, he has gathered an army called the Chitauri. He means to lead them against your people, they will win him the earth, in return I suspect, for the Tesseract.”

“Tell me something we don’t know.” Tony drawled drawing Thor’s attention.

The god frowned puzzled. “You know of this plan already? How can this be? The All-Father has only recently come to the knowledge.”

“Oh you know.” Tony said waving an armoured hand absently. “Loki might have told us.” He ignored Coulson’s lecture over the radio in favour of studying Thor’s reactions immediately after the announcement. Predictably the God’s eyes widened in shock and surprise before his face took on a confused expression, Tony also took particular note of the way that the hand not around Foster’s waist gripped the handle of his shiny big hammer. “Yeah, he also told us about the little tiff he had with you and dad.” He added.

Thor’s eyes narrowed. “Take care of how you speak, mortal.” He growled. “You are in the presence of a Prince of Asgard.”

“And you are in the presence of Tony Stark, a genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist not to mention that you are a guest on _my_ world, so perhaps it is you who should take care of how he speaks.” Tony retorted annoyed at being spoken down to. “Now, I’m just letting you know out of common courtesy, that we’ve got the Loki situation under control; he won’t be bringing the Chitauri to Earth and exchanging it for the Tesseract so you can go home; problem solved, everybody’s happy.”

“I think not.” Thor returned forcefully. “Loki may have you believe otherwise, but the Chitauri army is at his bidding and he will raise your world to the ground in recompense for imagined slights.”

“Imagined slights?” Tony repeated with a shocked laugh. “Wow, someone really doesn’t pay attention at the family dinner table.” Why he was so offended at what Thor had said on Loki’s behalf he wasn’t sure, but damned if Tony was going to stand for it.

_“Stark, let it go._ ” Coulson warned over the radio.

Typically, Tony ignored the order and widened his stance in the sand. “Now I know I’m not the poster boy for family values; that title belongs to Captain Spangly-Pants; but I think I would notice my father casting out my niece and nephews, killing my sister-in-law and then forcing my brother to hide his only two remaining kids because he feared for their lives. But then again, I wouldn’t be one of the reasons he was forced to hide those two away in the first place because I, oh I don’t know, tried to kill one of their brother’s with my giant shiny hammer when he was still just a toddler?!” he finished in an angry shout.

Foster, thankfully had the brains to realise she was in a situation way over her head and hastily backed away from the two men and battened down behind a rocky outcrop.

“You dare speak of what you know not?!” Thor thundered as he unhooked his hammer from his belt.

“ _I believe you angered him, not the wisest of moves.”_ A cool voice Tony recognised from the video earlier as Loki said dryly over the radio. “ _However, your defence of my actions is appreciated nonetheless.”_

“Glad to be of service.” Tony snarked.

“ _I suggest allowing him to attack first; it will bolster our position in talks to Asgard at a later date.”_ Loki continued.

Tony had to give the God of Mischief a point; it was a tactic used by any sane businessman; if the opposition threw the first punch you were likely to look better to the public. Justin Hammer still hadn’t got that memo yet and it didn’t look like Thor had yet either as Tony was forced to dodge to the side to avoid the hammer Thor had thrown in his direction. Lifting up both hands, Tony let off two repulsor blasts at the god and felt a satisfied thrum as the blasts sent him flying back across the sand twenty or so feet. Tony’s satisfaction was cut short when something heavy slammed into his back and he was sent sprawling across the sand face first. He let out a pained groan and rolled onto his back before pushing to his feet and glaring at the hammer as it zoomed past him once more to land in Thor’s outstretched and waiting hand.

“So, the hammer is a boomerang. That’s nice to know.” He grumbled under his breath before launching himself in Thor’s direction once more. They exchanged several blows and Tony found himself face first into the sand more times than he would like during the fight but he did manage to gain a few seconds of breathing time when he send both Thor and his hammer flying in opposite directions. The break was short-lived however when Thor summoned the hammer and with an angry snarl thrust it into the air. Tony paused and eyed the God in confusion; what was that about?

“ _You may want to vacate the area.”_ Loki warned.

Tony’s unasked question was answered when lightening streaked down from the suddenly stormy sky where it pooled around the outstretched hammer before Thor thrust it in Tony’s direction. Tony had a split second to think that it shouldn’t be possible to control lightening before the electricity flew across the distance between them and Tony jerked wildly as it hit the armour sending out sparks and shorting several minor systems; the billionaire was never so thankful for installing surge protectors in the suit at that moment.

“ _Power at four hundred percent.”_ JARVIS’ garbled voice stated dryly in the sudden quiet.

Tony glanced at the readings sure that the AI had shorted out somewhere but when he saw them with his own eyes he smirked to himself. “Okay.” He murmured quietly. “All power to the Unibeam.” He ordered. A second later his HUD beeped signalling the beam’s readiness and Tony braced himself and let loose. The blue beam of energy flew out from his chest piece and slammed into Thor sending him flying back to smash through a large rocky outcrop and splash through a set of waves offshore before he managed to right himself with use of the hammer. It appeared Thor realised that his lightening attack hadn’t worked as anticipated so he threw himself in Tony’s direction to once more trade physical blows. It was during a small pause where a blow had thrown the pair apart that something circular and brightly coloured ricocheted off Tony’s helmet and Thor’s chest piece and drew their attention.

Looking toward the direction the disc had come from and returned to, Tony was annoyed to note that Captain America was standing on an outcrop in his red, white and blue suit holding his shield and scowling. “That is enough!” he ordered.

Tony huffed but lowered his repulsors and shot a look at Thor. The god was staring at Rogers with narrowed eyes and rolling his hammer’s handle around in his fingers. “You wish to battle with me also?” he growled.

Tony had to admit he was surprised by the venomous look Rogers shot the God in reply; even with half his face concealed by the coif his expression screamed righteous anger. “Don’t tempt me.” Rogers replied. Tony raised an eyebrow at the reply.

Thor apparently took the words as insult as he growled and he had stepped forward swinging his hammer to engage Rogers when an arrow sunk into the golden sand between his feet, the god looked down at the quivering shaft in confusion and then it exploded sending the blonde flying back to land in the shallows.

“Make another aggressive move and your girlfriend gets it.” A voice called out from up by the dunes.

Tony had already figure out who it was from the arrow but he still turned his head to see Barton standing behind Foster with his bow in the hand wrapped over her chest whilst the other held an arrowhead against the soft skin of her throat. Even from his position Tony could see the Foster appeared to be the more relaxed one of the two; Barton’s muscles were quivering with tension and Tony was actually worried that the arrowhead might cut into Foster’s throat if the way the archer’s hand was shaking meant anything.

It was then that Tony remembered that it was Barton who Thor had almost flattened as a child; he grimaced at the thought of having to face the man who had tried to kill him when he was a toddler and Barton rose slightly higher in Tony’s estimation; the guy still used a bow and arrow unfortunately but Tony was going to try work on that.

Turning back to Thor, Tony saw the God climbing once more to his feet and flicking his wet hair out of his face. Upon seeing the situation he froze and then his eyes narrowed in anger. “Jörmungandr!” he spat, gripping his hammer tightly. “Let her go.”

“Asswipe.” Barton retorted shakily in greeting. “And I don’t think so.”

Thor growled and took a step forward but halted when the arrowhead grazed Foster’s throat causing a thin trickle of blood to trail down. The situation was beginning to get particularly tense when Tony noticed a dark clothed figure darting from rock to rock silently behind Thor and the billionaire smirked beneath his helmet.

“ _Thor has already tried to kill my children once before, I will not allow it to happen again.”_ Loki’s voice snarled over the comms. Tony’s attention was drawn to the radio when a sudden flurry of shouting came over from the Helicarrier, whatever Loki had done it had caused a reaction.

Therefore Tony wasn’t expecting it when the God of Mischief appeared in between them all on the sandy beach. “Will you people stop defying physics!” he shouted just a tad hysterically.

“Don’t be a fool, Thor.” Loki snapped. “You are outnumbered and both Jörmungandr and Fenrir will not hesitate to strike your woman down.”

Fenrir? Tony thought in confusion as he glanced around. Barton was Jörmungandr that he knew but the only other person Loki could be referring to was…wait…no freaking way. Tony turned his head to stare at Rogers and remembered the way that Barton and Rogers had acted during the meeting on the Helicarrier. “Dammit, Loki won the pool didn’t he?” Tony asked over the comms.

There was silence on the radio from the Helicarrier that all but answered the question for him. But it was the annoyed look Barton shot him that confirmed it. “That jammy bastard.” Tony muttered. “He doesn’t even use earth currency.”

Apparently whilst Tony had been distracted by the revelation that Captain America was actually Fenrir Lokison, Thor had decided that he couldn’t win the battle and dropped his hammer into the sand. It was then that Agent Romanov struck, slamming the syringe full of some kind of sedative into Thor’s neck which caused the God’s eyes to roll up into his head and collapse onto the ground out cold.

“See!” Tony exclaimed pointing toward the redhead who stood over the unconscious man. “Sneaky ninja attacks with needles!”

“Thank you, Hel.” Loki stated as he moved across the sand to where Foster and Barton were standing. He slowly reached up and gently pulled the arrowhead from his son’s grip and away from the doctor’s throat. The action obviously made the archer realise it was over and he slowly released Foster from his tight grip and he cleared his throat in apology and embarrassment.

“Wait…Hel?” Tony asked turning his head between Romanov and Loki as realisation sank in. “You know there is so many references I can make between  you and death right now, but I just can’t think of one?” he stated staring at the redhead from behind his faceplate.

Romanov just raised a delicate eyebrow and held up the syringe threateningly. “There’s just enough left in this to knock you out for days, Stark.” She stated.

Tony laughed nervously and took a step back. “Ok you win; no death references.” He cleared his throat before speaking into the comm. “So, in case you didn’t notice Thor is out for the count. I’m assuming the Wonder Kids stole a jet and parked it nearby so we’ll just bring the big guy back on that.”

_“Please do.”_ Coulson answered stiffly and Tony was inclined to believe that the man was slightly annoyed with him for some reason. Tony scowled to himself, it wasn’t like _he_ had stolen a multimillion dollar, state of the art piece of equipment and attacked an Asgardian God like some people…he owned the Ironman armour thank you very much.

Looking back at the group he noted that Rogers and Romanov were hauling Thor’s unconscious body across the sand; hindered more than helped, by Doctor Foster whilst Loki looked on with a carefully blank face. Barton had disappeared but the sound of a jet’s engines signalled he had only gone to retrieve their ride. Glancing over he saw the Quinjet slowly lowering down to land in the firm sand before the bay door opened. Rogers and Romanov dragged Thor inside, followed by Foster and Loki. The latter paused and looked toward him and Tony just waved a gloved hand dismissively; the jets weren’t that big and it was already filled with a five Asgardians and Foster, it was probably safer to fly home. At the rate hidden Asgardians were coming out of the woodwork it would be just his luck that Foster was a goddess of grain or some such thing. Turning away, Tony blasted off into the air and made sure to put some extra juice into the repulsors; he had just under three hundred percent charge available and he wanted to know how fast he could make it back to the Helicarrier.


	8. Chapter 8

Bruce wasn’t sure to if he should be offended or relieved that SHIELD had installed a Hulk-proof cell on the Helicarrier. On one hand, it meant that SHIELD had alternate motives and were predicting the need to throw the Hulk into a cell to keep him contained. On the other hand, having the cell meant that there was the possibility that the Other Guy couldn’t hurt anyone and SHELD was right to prepare for that. Still, the cell did end up being useful to contain the Asgardian god who was pacing angrily around in short circles and glaring out at everyone in the room.

“Is this strictly necessary?”

Bruce turned to see Doctor Jane Foster standing beside him and clutching the railing as she looked over at Thor with an upset expression. Looking between the pair, Bruce recalled that the scientist had some sort of connection to the god when he had arrived on Earth the first time nearly a year ago. So it was expected that she would be feeling bad about being part of a group that locked her boyfriend up in an inescapable cage.

“Considering that he was trying to maim Tony Stark and looked like he was going to pound Agent Barton into the ground I think it’s a safe bet.” He replied dryly. “Maybe you should go talk to him; see if you can calm him down and get him to listen to reason?’ he suggested carefully. Jane shot him a wary smile but nevertheless turned away and started for the short walkway that connected the cage to the rest of the Helicarrier. Bruce was watching her hesitantly step up to the glass when he felt another’s presence by his side.

“Should just hit the kill switch now, save us the time.” A voice muttered darkly.

Turning his head to the side, Bruce was surprised to see Captain Rogers standing beside him. From the comment he had assumed it would be Agent Barton…Jörmungandr; shaking his head slightly, Bruce decided he’d have to ask the Asgardian which name he preferred. “I figured you would have thought otherwise, Captain.” He replied quietly. Bruce watched from the corner of his eye as Rogers’ fingers clenched and unclenched, the leather gloves of his outfit creaking as he stared narrow eyed down at the blonde standing stiffly listening to Jane.  

“I take it you haven’t heard?” the Captain said after a few seconds of painful silence.

Bruce shifted uncomfortably; this wasn’t going to be good news he assumed. The scientist shook his head slowly in reply.

Rogers’ lips quirked slightly as if he was amused by something before he began to talk. “Agent Barton as you know is Jörmungandr; Loki’s second born son. When we arrived on the Helicarrier, Agent Romanov escorted you to your labs. If you recall she directed me to a staff room where an agent would show me around the remainder of the carrier. This was Jörmungandr; it appeared that he recognized me even though I didn’t recognize him.” Bruce listened to the explanation and realization slowly started to sink in. “He brought me to Loki, who whilst shocked at my appearance was relieved to have found another of his children.”

“You’re Fenrir aren’t you?” Bruce asked as Rogers stopped for a breath. Well, that explained the angry comment about killing Thor a minute ago.

The blonde man gave a short sharp smile in return. “Yes.” He stated before flicking his eyes back to watch the scene before them.

Bruce turned to see Agent Romanov striding into the room to stand beside Jane in front of Thor, only the thick layer of glass between them. He watched as Thor turned from Jane to the new arrival and therefore was able to see the way that the God’s eyes widened in surprise before his face screwed up in anger.

“Abomination!” the blonde spat angrily.

Agent Romanov’s placid expression didn’t change at the insult even though Jane gasped in surprise and her hand flew to her mouth in shock. “Uncle.” She greeted evenly. “Óðinn will not be pleased that his diplomat attacked the Midgardian representative unprovoked.”

Bruce choked on a mouthful of spit at the familial name coming from the red head. That could only mean one thing; that Natasha Romanov was Hel Lokisdottir. What were the odds that three of Loki’s children had been found on a team of five specialized person put together by SHIELD? _At least the last two were supposed to be twins,_ he thought to himself, thankfully that put Tony and himself out of the running.

It still didn’t explain the curiosity that was the fact that all three came from complete different timelines. Steve Rogers/Fenrir was born sometime in nineteen twenties, Natasha Romanov/Hel was born around the late nineteen thirties if the report was to be believed and Clinton Barton/Jörmungandr was born in the nineteen eighties; that didn’t make any sense if they had all been cast out of Asgard at the same time….unless the Bifrost created a temporal displacement…

Any thoughts on the further scientific experimentation on the rainbow bridge of Asgard was pushed into the back of Bruce’s mind when a loud bang echoed around the room and Jane Foster gave a shriek of fright. Snapping his head up, Bruce saw that Thor had slammed a clenched fist against the glass causing a spider web of cracks to form in place of a hole and the scientist in him wondered how much pounds of pressure per inch was required to even cause that small amount of damage. If an Asgardian God could do that just by punching it, how could SHIELD assume that it would have held the Other Guy?

The punch had evidently activated some sort of failsafe as a loud whirring noise filled the room and the level underneath the cage opened revealing the moving ground thousands of feet below.

“Do not think you know my father’s mind, creature!” Thor shouted glaring at his niece who was still standing in the same position a foot away from the glass even though Jane had danced away to grip white knuckled at the railing.

“Thor!” The doctor shouted at him, shock slowly rising to anger. “How could you say such horrible things?!” Jane clenched her fists by her sides and shakily marched back up to the shattered glass; the wind causing her long brown hair to fly around wildly. Bruce had to snort in amusement at the expression on Thor’s face as the diminutive woman began lecturing him. “These people are Erik’s and my friends.”

Thor looked like he was struggling to growl something more derogatory but he took several deep breaths to calm himself before he rested the fingertips of one hand against the glass closest to the doctor. “My fair Jane, things are not so simple. Those you call your friends are not who they say they are.”

Jane shook her head. “They are government agents who protect this planet from threats.”

“They are monsters!” Thor snapped back. “Loki’s abominations.”

This time Bruce was able to see Natasha flinch and she wasn’t the only one; the Captain beside him jerked as well before he let out a low growl.

Jane spluttered for several seconds before wrapping her arms around and holding herself tightly. “ _They’re_ not the monster in this room, Thor.” She retorted quietly.

Thor looked like he had been slapped as he watched Jane turn and walk away; she paused near the doorway and looked over her shoulder at him sadly. “Just because someone has a genetic mutation it doesn’t mean that they are monsters or abominations. We have enough people on this planet who think that way, we don’t need another one.” She finished before turning back and leaving the room.

Bruce watched Jane Foster go with a thoughtful frown on his face; he had always thought there was more to the petite doctor than meet the eye, if she supported the mutants than there was a small chance she wouldn’t scream and run in the opposite direction if she met him. His attention was pulled away from any further study of the doctor when the super soldier beside him stepped away and made his way down toward the centre of the hanger to stand beside his sister. From the scowl that crossed Thor’s face at the action it didn’t take much to assume he didn’t appreciate the gesture.

The doors opening once more caused him to look over and see the S.H.I.E.L.D agent who he had been liaising with walk in carrier a small dark folder under one arm. "Thor Odinson, I’m not sure if you remember me, we meet a year ago in New Mexico."

Bruce tuned out the resulting conversation in favour of watching the facial expressions and body language of the four people below his small balcony. Both S.H.I.E.L.D agents concealed their movements with practiced ease that made it hard for the scientist to determine their thoughts and apart from several outbursts from Thor neither showed any inclination of doing otherwise. The Captain on the other hand was wearing a dark scowl that showed what he thought of the entire matter very clearly and Bruce knew the other man had a pretty good reason for it. He had grown up in an unfavourable home environment himself and could sympathise with all three of Loki’s children.

Eventually Thor’s defensive and angry body language and words became too much for Bruce to handle and he quickly decided that it was probably better if he left now before his own anger at the situation became a big green problem. Besides, he wanted to catch up with Tony Stark; there were a few theories he wanted to discuss regarding the Tesseract.

* * *

 

In the shadowy and often dangerous world of espionage and death dealing, a person had good days and bad days. The archer had known this before Loki had walked through the magic portal nearly a week ago and released his memories; it was only now, however, that he was looking down at his angry uncle who was pacing around the Hulk Proof Cage that the idea arrived once more at the forefront of his mind. This day was looking like it was gearing up to be one hell of a shit day.

He watched silently as his recently revealed sister walked up to the glass with Dr Foster and had several slurs thrown in her direction from Thor. Typical of her ice cold persona, the words didn’t even make a dent in the assassin’s expression. It wasn’t until Thor mentioned their father that Hel flinched minutely and whilst the action was missed by Foster and most likely Thor, the petite doctor nevertheless ripped the blonde god a good one before storming out of the hanger.

Movement on one of the far balcony’s that were hidden in the shadowy corner of the room drew the sniper’s attention and he glanced over to see his brother making his way down to join their sister. Further study also revealed the gamma radiation scientist also standing in the shadows. The curly haired man turned his gaze away from Fenrir’s retreating back to Thor who had returned to pacing angrily around his cage; Jörmungandr wondered if the man knew the cell had originally been created for him before shaking his head dismissively, of course he did; Dr Banner seemed like an intelligent man, despite his unfortunate problem. But then again, what did it matter if he was part of the team, there were already three monsters on it anyway, what was one more? Earth would need all the help it could get if Thanos was to attack it.

His attention was once more drawn to movement below him and he turned his gaze downward to see Agent Coulson moving along the walkway to join his siblings. The agent smiled blandly at Thor as he tucked the folder he had been carrying under one arm and linked his fingers together in front of himself.

"Thor Odinson, I’m not sure if you remember me, we meet a year ago in New Mexico." Coulson said as he greeted the Asgardian Prince.

Thor stopped his pacing and shot the shorter man a glare. "Son of Coul, yes I remember you." He returned with a growl. "Why have you locked me away in this cage? I agreed to come peacefully and yet you use deceitful acts to trap me."

The thin smile on Coulson’s face didn’t change as he answered. "You’ll have to excuse our precautions but you have already attacked one of our consultant’s unprovoked and we are aware of the animosity you have in regards to several of our others." He said shooting a pointed look to his right where Fenrir and Hel still stood expressionlessly. "There would be less paperwork to fill out if you didn’t kill several of SHIELDs assets." He added.

"Consultants?" Thor scoffed striding forward to the glass and gesturing to the siblings. "You know not of true heritage of these creatures, these abominations! They will bring nothing but death and destruction to your realm.” He warned as he loomed over the shorter man as far as he could with the glass between them.

Coulson remained where he was but tilted his chin to peer up at the blonde. "They already do, but that is part of their job description, Mr Odinson. I’m not sure how it works in your realm but apart from a few specific groups, the people within ours tend to not judge a person on their heritage but on their actions; and none of Loki’s children have done anything so far to warrant any further action against them." When Thor looked like he was about to snap something out Coulson continued. "That is not to say that were aren’t prepared for such a case, like any number of possible dangers we will be keeping a watchful eye on them, however, I won’t be trying to squash one of them with a war hammer because someone said that they _may_ kill me in the distant future a millennia from now." He finished dryly.

From his location up in the rafters looking down, the aforementioned child couldn’t stop the small smile from forming on his lips at the last words, clearly Coulson had been reading up on his Norse mythology.

"You know nothing of Asgard, mortal." Thor growled, ignoring the dig the agent had thrown at him.

"You’d be surprised." Coulson returned. "Your brother has been very forthcoming with information regarding your realm while he has been here with us." The agent looked away from Thor as he unclasped his hands and opened the file he had tucked under his arm earlier. "I have a few questions to ask you given the situation we find ourselves in; if you could answer them it would be appreciated." He added glancing up at the man from under his eyebrows.

Thor scowled and crossed his arms, giving neither a confirmation that he would answer but yet not denying it either.

"Thank you." Coulson said as he flicked through the pages in the folder. "Does the name Thanos mean anything to you?" he asked looking back up at Thor to gauge his reaction. The name only caused the big blonde to frown slightly in confusion and the SHIELD agents tucked away the knowledge that the god knew nothing of the aforementioned threat and the true master of the Chitauri. Coulson continued with his questions and eventually both Hel and Fenrir grew bored and wandered off along Dr Banner who had been still hiding in the shadows, Jörmungandr, however remained in his position in the beams above, watching silently.

The mostly one sided conversation came to a halt when the doors to the hanger slid open and Tony Stark sans Ironman armour walked into the room sipping away at a takeaway cup of coffee in one hand whilst the other held a tray carrying two more. He came to a stop beside Coulson and surprisingly held out the tray to the other man. "Yours is on the left." He said in lieu of greeting, never taking his eyes off the blonde man in front of him. When Coulson didn’t make a move for the cup he turned his head and peered at the agent. "Pepper ordered it not me; don’t get your panties in a twist."

A small smirk formed on Coulson’s face as he tucked the folder under his arm again and reached out to take the proffered cup. "I will have to give Ms Potts my thanks." Coulson replied.

Stark grunted in agreement before tapping the half empty tray against the cracked glass between him and Thor. "Your file says you like _diner coffee_ and this is clearly far superior to that crap but Agent probably won’t let me open the door to give it to you; security threat and all _and_ you did try to kill me earlier, so I’ll just offer it to you nephew instead." He paused and then glanced upwards to where Jörmungandr had stashed himself. "That is of course if bird-snake hybrids drink coffee." He added with a smirk.

The archer scowled at the dark haired man for the nickname as the attention of the other two was drawn to him; he was pretty sure Coulson already knew he was up there but had just deigned to ignore the other man while questioning Thor. The thunder god muttered something lowly under his breath as he glared up at him and Jörmungandr was pretty sure it was derogatory so he just flipped him off as he made his way down to the lower platform. Now that Thor was aware of his presence, the ambience of the room seemed to darken and the memories of his childhood were brought to the forefront of his mind once more; the urge to flee the room and curl up beside his father in safety was strong but the desire to show no fear in front of his uncle was stronger so he stopped a few feet away from the others and sat on the railing around the walkway surrounding the cage. Stark twisted and waggled the takeaway tray in his direction and after a few seconds of consideration he took the proffered drink; mostly because it would spite Thor.

"You should not trust Loki’s spawn so easily, Son of Coul; they will betray you." Thor warned turning his glare away from the seated man to stare at the other agent.

"Oh please," Tony declared dismissively waving a hand. "Despite how boring Agent can be, he is a good judge of character. Why else do you think I’m here?"

Jörmungandr smirked from behind his cup; it was good coffee. "He felt sorry for Ms Potts and thought she deserved a few hours away from you each week." He answered. The billionaire shot him an unimpressed look over his shoulder at the retort.

Coulson ignored the byplay beside him and instead focused on the changing expressions crossing the Asgardian’s face the longer he studied Stark. The god gave a grunt that drew the arguing pair’s attention and they watched as Thor’s eyes darted around the hanger obviously looking for something.

"Where is your brother, Narfi?" he questioned. "Where one is found, the other is not far."

The three men all exchanged confused looks. "Narfi?" Coulson asked slowly.

Jörmungandr had straightened at the name of one of his younger brothers and realisation sank in as he looked between Thor and Stark. "You have got to be kidding me." He muttered under his breath.

Stark just looked confused as he suddenly became the centre of attention. "Ah…I don’t know about you but I’m pretty sure Loki said his other two kids were twins; I don’t have a twin. So sorry, Point Break, you’ve got the wrong guy." Tony corrected with a laugh and a shake of his head. He shot Thor an amused look before he turned and started to make his way toward the door before he suddenly spun back around and waved the hand still holding the empty coffee tray around pointedly. "Besides, Loki didn’t glomp me like he did with his other brats when we came face-to-face, so again, wrong person."

"You were wearing fully enclosed armour when you came face-to-face."

Stark met Jörmungandr’s theory with a dark look.

"There is also Section Eight, Paragraph Five of your file to consider." Coulson stated after a few second’s thought.

"That blacked out section that requires Level Eight clearance to read?" Jörmungandr asked, a curious expression crossing his face as he glanced between the two men. He and Natasha had been trying to find out what was under all the black ink ever since Tony Stark and Ironman became household names.

Stark paused clearly trying to think of the section Coulson mentioned before his eyes widened in memory and then narrowed as a stubborn look crossed his face. "No." he growled in refusal. "That isn’t related at all."

"Why not?" Coulson asked. "It’s a suitable explanation."

Tony’s face tightened. "It’s a stupid explanation. I am not one of Loki’s half monster brats!" The shouted words echoed around the cavernous hanger for several seconds before Jörmungandr was up, tossing the coffee cup to the side and diving toward the billionaire with a growl. Stark barely had the chance to lift his arms in defence before he was tackled to the walkway by the bulkier man.

"Fuck you!" The Asgardian snarled leaning down to glare at Tony’s face as he snagged the man’s flailing arms in a tight grip and slammed them to the ground. "We are not fucking monsters!"

"Agent, stand down!" Coulson ordered, placing his folder and coffee cup on one of the metal ledges before he stepped forward in preparation to pull the archer off if his order was ignored.

The sniper was tempted to disregard the order but Stark’s face was sufficiently pale enough under his tan and his brown eyes were wide with fear signalling he got the point. He lowered his face until he was barely an inch away from the billionaire’s and bared his teeth viciously. "You don’t mention that word around me or the others unless you want to know where the Vikings got their Norse stories of torture from, understand?" He growled lowly.

Stark nodded fervently and he pulled back and released the billionaire’s wrists. Stark stayed stock still for several more seconds until he realised that he was being released and then he quickly scrambled to his feet. The billionaire paused shortly before clearing his throat and nervously straightening his clothes whilst shooting the agent wary looks from the corner of his eyes.

"Threatening S.H.I.E.L.D assets is general frowned upon as you know, Agent Barton." Coulson reprimanded as he stepped forward to stand beside the still angry man. "There are Codes of Conduct for a reason."

"You should expect nothing less from them, Coul’s son." Thor interrupted causing the three men to tense slightly, they had forgotten about the Asgardian in their distraction, thankfully not fatally. "It is the nature of animals to act this way."

Jörmungandr spun around with a growl and slammed an open palm angrily against the glass barrier between him and his uncle; the glass cracked and spider-webbed designs spread outward from the contact mirroring the one a few feet away. "Go to Hell!" he snarled. His Midgardian life was still in the forefront of his mind, not yet completely merged with his Asgardian memories, so it was only after he had snapped the colloquial saying that he realised he had essentially told Thor to go to his sister instead of a fiery pit of damnation. Apparently Thor thought the same if the insulted expression meant anything.

"Mr Odinson, your stay would be much more pleasant if you refrained from insulting your hosts." Coulson politely interjected. The twin looks of disdain he received from both Asgardian’s didn’t faze him in the least as he continued twisting so that he was facing both Stark and his agent. "I will set up a meeting in the Briefing Room for 19:00 hours; I expect both of you to be there." He added with a firm look between the two men. His asset scowled and Stark looked like he’d rather be anywhere else than beside the man who had tackled him to the ground and threatened him moments ago before damaging a Hulk-proof cage with a slam of a palm but he nevertheless nodded in agreement stiffly. "Barton, ensure that Loki, Rogers and Romanov also attend." Coulson ordered shooting the still scowling man a firm look. The agent made to leave but Coulson halted him with a few more words. "It might also be prudent to invite Dr Banner." Here Coulson paused and took a breath clearly trying to think of how to phrase his next words correctly, even as a dawning look of realisation spread across the other men’s faces. "If Stark really is Narfi as Thor proclaims, that is four of Loki’s children out of the five people selected for the Avengers Initiative. No matter how much it will irritate Fury; odds are that Dr Banner is the fifth."

The sniper’s face twisted through a variety of expressions before settling on the carefully blank face he usually wore when he didn’t want anyone to know what he was feeling before he nodded tightly and then stiffly strode out of the hanger. Coulson watched the archer’s retreating back for several seconds before sighing heavily.

"If I’m really Narfi; and seriously what kind of name is that? Why didn’t psycho Robin Hood recognise me, huh?" Tony demanded shooting the SHIELD handler a sharp look.

Coulson carefully picked up his folder and the now lukewarm cup of coffee without bothering to look at Tony as the other man blustered about angrily in an attempt to cover his unease at the situation. Coulson was tempted to assure the billionaire he wasn’t the only one uneasy with the present circumstances but instead settled on his usual bland persona. "Loki’s first three children were cast out of Asgard before the other two were born; the only one who would recognise you would be Loki, or your uncle." He added casting the blonde god a side glance. Thor was now content to ignore the two men by sitting on the ground in the centre of the cell with his back toward them.

Tony didn’t look mollified with the answer but it wasn’t like Coulson could give the man any other one until they spoke with Loki. As it was, he needed to find Fury and brief the Director on the newest development in the Asgardian Soap Opera, as he’d come to calling it in his own mind; the only difference between this situation and the ones on television was that aliens and super-powers were involved.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Its now midnight here in Sydney and my eyes are barely staying open as I type this. But that is my updated spree over and it is back to normal posting after a write a chapter now that AO3 is up to date with FF.net.

The sun was just starting to set, intensifying the golden colour of the great halls and burnishing it with a reddish hue. Twinned cries signalled the arrival of her husband’s ravens and Frigga lay down her sewing and pushed to her feet to make her way to Odin’s location. She found him on one of the many balconies’ overlooking Asgard; both Huginn and Muninn were perched on the elegantly carved railing near Odin. The All-father had his head bent down to listen to Huginn as the raven reported what he had discovered for the day; Muninn stood silently beside his brother awaiting his turn.

Frigga clasped her hands in front of her and stood patiently in the doorway waiting for her husband to finish with his messengers. From the deepening frown growing on Odin’s face she could only assume that the pair was delivering unwelcome news. Her thoughts immediately turned to her sons; when the raven’s had first brought message of Loki’s sightings on Midgard she had dropped to her knees in relief and gratitude. Her rising hope had been tainted however by the news that he had joined forces with the warring Chitauri and was led by an unknown darker being. Odin had immediately sent Thor to Midgard to bring both his brother and the Tesseract back to Asgard. Frigga could only guess that Huginn and Muninn brought news from Midgard that was not anticipated.

A few minutes later both ravens flew off leaving the ruler of Asgard alone with his wife. Frigga stepped forward into the waning light to stand beside Odin. “What news have the brothers brought forth from Midgard?” she asked solemnly.

Odin remained silent for some time as he thought before he turned to Frigga with a weary look. “Events over the past year have not completely removed your son’s foolish need to act without forethought.” He stated. “Thor attacked the Midgardian envoy without cause.”

Frigga rose an eyebrow at the words; whilst she acknowledged that Thor hadn’t yet completely outgrown his need to not think things completely through, she hardly thought she was the one to blame. “ _My_ son?” she asked primly. “Why must he always be my son when he has done something foolish? Is it not you who have been teaching him about politics and ruling?”

A brief sheepish look crossed her husband’s face and Frigga felt a momentary surge of accomplishment before she pushed it away and focused on the matter at hand. “How will his actions effect further discussions with Midgard?” she asked. Frigga had wanted to ask about Loki but she knew that bringing up the topic of their wayward son would put Odin into a fuming mood and she would get nothing else of importance from him. It was better that Loki be that last topic of conversation.

“Ordinarily Thor’s actions can be explained away as youthful ignorance however Huginn has brought forth troubling news from the battle. Loki appears to have cast away the yolk of following the Chitauri.” Odin replied turning away from his wife and looking out into the distance.

“But that is good news is it not?” Frigga asked with a small frown. The fact that Loki was no longer joining forces with the Chitauri or planning to destroy Midgard would usually be greeted with relief.

“It is his reasons for doing so that is troubling.” Odin answered. He paused with a disturbed frown and Frigga took a deep breath to calm herself, attempting to anticipate the degree of bad news her husband was about to deliver. “During the battle just before Loki arrived to speak with Thor, the Midgardian envoy was aided by three others. Initially, Huginn thought them to be mortals much the same as the envoy but a second look proved them to be something else entirely.”

A light frown graced Frigga’s face as she tried to think of what else they could be apart from mortals. Midgard was regarded as a backwater realm; far beyond the magics and thought of all other realms. Rarely did anyone travel there in their wanderings. There was no one there of any power that could possibly be…she cut the thought off with a sharp gasp. “The children.” She whispered softly.

Odin nodded gravely. “Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel.” He stated. “Thor did not react well.”

Frigga closed her eyes and gently grasped the railing of the balcony for balance. “They fought alongside the Midgardian?” she asked trying to keep her voice steady.

“Briefly, the battle was stopped before it could truly begin.” Odin replied. “The female mortal Thor met on Midgard during his exile was there; Jörmungandr took her hostage to ensure Thor’s good behaviour.” He explained, a dark look crossing his face. Frigga wasn’t clear on whether the look was in regards to Loki’s second born or for the fact that a mortal held such sway of the future ruler of Asgard.

“Thor went with them willingly?” she asked, thoughts of her son’s wellbeing flowing through her head.

“The draugr witch attacked him from behind; he was knocked unconscious.” Odin growled angrily and a heavy roll of thunder was heard in the distance.

Frigga pursed her lips at the mention of Hel; she had never fully backed what Odin had done when he cast out Loki’s children but she hadn’t stood up to him either. Still, there was no need for name calling. “The Midgardian’s treated Thor well the last time he was captured by them.” She stated. “I do not expect them to treat him any differently.” She added.

“Even with the Exiled so close?” Odin demanded. “They would tell lies to their allies; I would not trust them to harm my son.”

Frigga ignored the sudden possessive noun in regards to Thor’s parentage and instead focused on the important facts. “If Loki has sided with the Midgardians then rest assure that Thor will not be harmed. He knows that they have the advantage in regards to talks between our realms; Thor’s earlier actions will not have granted favour to our position. Harming Thor will only lessen theirs.” She turned away from Odin and looked out over Asgard; the sun had now fully set and the golden city was only lit by the stars and moons. “Loki’s children will also bolster their position.” She added quietly.

Odin scoffed but Frigga placed a warning hand on his arm. “You cast them out on naught but the words of prophecy.” She stated.

“They are abominations.” Odin retorted. “They did not belong in the halls of Asgard.”

“Are they?” Frigga answered archly. “If not for the fact that _you_ stole away with a Jötunn child millennia ago they would not exist. Loki was brought up as Aesir, we kept the truth from him; it is no one’s folly but our own that they are who they are.” An irritated look crossed Odin’s face and Frigga fought not to allow a smirk to cross hers; her husband did not like to be reminded of his mistakes. And casting Loki’s children from Asgard was a mistake; allowing the Aesir to treat them as abominations was a mistake; not acting when she should have so many years ago was the biggest mistake. She would remedy that situation now.

“Fenrir was prophesized to kill you, Jörmungandr to kill Thor and Hel to bring an army to lay waste to Asgard as they brought forth Ragnarök. Do you not have cause to believe that by exiling them from Asgard; tearing them from their parents’ arms, binding their memories and powers and casting them away would be the reason they would do so?” She demanded. “Self-fulfilling prophecies are called such for a reason Odin All-Father, Ruler of Asgard. You may have brought about Ragnarök on your own.” She finished pointedly before turning and heading inside. She paused just inside the doorway with her back still toward her husband. “Loki would not side with the mortals for nothing; he will have a reason for doing so. The Chitauri will not allow this setback to stop them and their leader shrouds himself in darkness so strong that not even our most powerful magics can see through it. Perhaps it is time to speak with our wayward child to determine what he knows?” she suggested before continuing on her way leaving Odin to ponder over her words.

 

* * *

 

Tony stared absently at the grey metal walls of his quarters aboard the Helicarrier; the room was militaristic and simple, no wide open spaces with tasteful decoration on this flying tub. He had bitched about it when he had first been shown his sleeping quarters but now he had more important things to think about; mainly the fact that Loki Laufeyson was apparently his father and he was a Norse God. Also he now had five siblings…well technically four considering he wasn’t actually related to Howard and Maria any longer. Oh and wasn’t _that_ going to open a giant can of worms when it got out. The Board of Stark Industries was still trying to oust him for tossing away their military contracts and they would dive onto that little crumb of information like starving men. Crap, he’d need to give Pepper a heads up…Arno too, he’d especially need to know if the Board tried to give Tony the boot. The billionaire sighed and rubbed at his forehead, he’d think about the business side of things later, right now he had more important worries.

If Barton and Thor weren’t fucking with him and they were telling the truth, then he was actually the son of a Norse God of legend. That was most likely the reason, Tony thought to himself, that he had actually survived the explosion and following meatball surgery in Afghanistan. The specialists all said it was a miracle he had survived his wounds, that any other person would have died before they even made it to a doctor, let alone one who wasn’t actually a medical professional and whose surgery consisted of mechanic’s toolbox, a basic first aid kit and a car battery. Basically, Tony’s survival had meant that he had had something else going for him; alien biology and magic apparently.

And Magic! That was a real thing too! Tony stopped on the thought, if magic was a real thing that the Asgardian’s used and if he was an Asgardian…a sly smirk formed on his face and Tony was sure that whoever was monitoring the security in his room was currently pissing themselves out of fear at the sight.

 _“Sir?”_ JARVIS interrupted Tony’s musing gently and the engineer glanced upwards; a habit he had unfortunately started ever since Pepper had moved in with him and done the same whenever she talked with the AI.

“Yeah, buddy?”

 _“Director Fury has forwarded a time and location for the meeting with Loki.”_  The AI answered.

Tony grimaced at the words and then nodded. Right, there was that. “How long do I have?” he asked.

“ _The meeting will be in Briefing Room One in one hour.”_

One hour; that gave him enough time to talk to Pepper and Arno at least. Nodding to himself, Tony stood up and moved over to the small desk in the quarters and began the process of setting up the computer for a video call back to New York. “Jay, call Pepper and make sure to triple the security and block audio and visual of this room.” Tony directed the AI.

“ _Of course, Sir.”_ JARVIS answered. “ _Calling now.”_

Tony looked down at the monitor showing nothing but a blank screen with the word ‘Calling’ in glowing blue letters. A second later and the black disappeared in exchange of the image of the CEO of Stark Industries. “Pepper, my beautiful goddess!” Tony greeted, throwing her a smile that he didn’t entirely feel.

Pepper’s face registered surprise at his call. _“Tony.”_ She greeted, before a wary expression crossed her face as he shift in her seat and braced herself for unexpected news. _“I wasn’t expecting a call from you for days.”_

“Oh you know, thought I’d surprise you.” Tony retorted waving a hand around dismissively.

 _“You know how I feel about surprises, Tony.”_ The redhead answered with a faintly disapproving look. She glanced down at the papers over her desk and then efficiently piled them together and moved them to the side, giving Tony all of her attention with a deep breath. _“Alright, give it to me.”_

Here Tony faltered, usually he was able to just blurt out what was on his mind to Pepper without any problem or without a filter usually but this wasn’t something he was totally comfortable in letting her know; what if she didn’t like it? What if the fact that Tony wasn’t the genius, billionaire, philanthropist and _human_ man she thought he was and she then refused to have anything to do with him? The thought ground everything he had been about to say to a halt and he was just left opening and shutting his mouth like a fish for several seconds.

 _“Tony, what’s wrong? Something’s happened hasn’t it?_ _Oh my God, is it the Arc Reactor? Has something gone wrong with the Arc Reactor?”_ Pepper immediately leant forward closer to the camera with a panicked look across her face as she tried to peer through the screen to look at Tony’s chest. “ _JARVIS! Has something gone wrong with the Reactor? Is Tony okay? Oh my God, Tony are you dying again?”_

Her rising panic kicked Tony out of his floundering and he immediately jumped to reassure his girlfriend that he wasn’t in fact dying. “No! No, Pep, it’s okay, I’m not dying; the Arc Reactor is fine and is in perfectly working order!” He answered tapping said device with an index finger. “In fact it’s actually exceeding expectations and I won’t have to change it out for a predicted extra one hundred years due to unforeseen charging.” He added with a faint grin.

“ _Unforeseen charging?”_ Pepper demanded once she had taken a couple of deep breaths to calm herself once she realized Tony wasn’t dying.

Tony cleared his throat and gave an absent wave. “Apparently getting struck by lightning while in the suit charges it. Anyway, that’s not the reason for the call.” He said before faltering once more and then looking away from Pepper’s attentive gaze to stare at his hands.

 _“Tony?”_ Pepper asked softly when he refused to talk again. _“You know you can talk to me. You can’t scare me off; I’ve seen you at your worst before.”_ She joked and Tony winced.

 _That was before you knew I was an alien form another dimension_. Tony thought to himself. If Pepper, left he wasn’t sure he would be able to take it; she was his rock. She was the one thing he couldn’t live without and if she left…

_“Tony?”_

“So I have this…friend and hypothetically he’s gotten into this…situation.” Tony blurted out, winced for blurting it out and the winced again for wincing.

Pepper leant back into her seat with a dubious expression on her face. _“Okaaay…so this ‘friend’ and his ‘hypothetical situation’; what are they exactly?”_

Tony cleared his throat once more and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Yeah there was no way she believed him about the friend thing, but the alternative was not acceptable. “Well, _hypothetically_ this _friend_ may have suddenly found out who his birth parents are and they may not, hypothetically remember, they may not actually be…uh…human…exactly. Hypothetically of course.” He finished with another wince and a quick glance to at the computer to judge Pepper’s reaction to his _hypothetical_ statement.

The expression on Pepper’s face was the one she usually wore when she didn’t want the Board to know what she was thinking when they had said something sexist and/or stupidly unexpected; not a good sign. The redhead looked down at her hands in an attempt to gather her thoughts and then looked back up at the camera making sure to catch Tony’s eyes to convey her seriousness.

“‘ _Hypothetically’, if this situation did in fact exist,”_ She started, quirking her lips at the beginning before smoothing her face out. “ _I would say to your ‘friend’ that it didn’t matter what they discovered their parents were, because I have fallen in love with them for who they are. I’ve fallen in love with the person who doesn’t treat me like some brainless bimbo, the person who sees the real me, sees what I am capable of. The person who treats me as if I was the centre of his world, a man who is self-sacrificing and willing to give his life for his friends and strangers alike.”_

Tony swallowed thickly at the earnest words from Pepper that came out of the speakers and he had to look away from the love that was shining out of her eyes for him. “Should I be jealous of this hypothetical friend of mine that you’ve fallen in love with?” he croaked jokingly. “Do I need to hire someone to get rid of my competition? I know a couple of assassins.” He added before choking out a laugh as the absurd realization that he was actually _related_ to a couple of assassins. Did that mean he got freebies?

 _“Tony, do I need to call Phil and tell him to send someone to pick me up?”_ Pepper asked quietly over the video as she watched him and his reactions like a hawk. _“He owes me a couple of favours.”_

Phil? Oh right, Coulson; his first name apparently wasn’t Agent. “No.” Tony answered after a few seconds thought of Pepper flying out to the Helicarrier to check up on him. He enjoyed the image of the petite redhead giving Barton or Jörmungandr or whatever the hell he called himself, a lecture on how he shouldn’t threaten her boyfriend and he pushed it to the side for later thought. “You don’t need to come all the way out here to check up on me. I’m fine, nothing to worry about. It’s my friend who has the problem remember?” he said forcing a laugh before realising that in fact his new friend, Bruce, was about to discover that his parent’s weren’t actually human too and his forced amusement faded. “I have a twin brother!” he blurted out before he could stop himself again.

Pepper’s face registered her surprise at the words and her mouth opened and closed for several seconds before she composed herself. “A twin brother?” she wondered breathlessly. “There are _two_ of you?”

Tony snorted a laugh at her horror and thought about how different he and Bruce Banner actually were. “No, I’m unique. Bruce is…well Bruce in unique too but he’s not so loud.” Tony paused and then corrected himself quickly. “Loud was a bad example. Bruce is…he has…uh…I guess you could say breath-taking anger issues?”

Pepper didn’t look reassured in fact she look more worried. _“Tony, breath-taking anger issues? He could hurt you.”_

“Nah.” Tony said waving a hand dismissively. “I already jabbed him with a miniature cattle prod, he barely even twitched; Bruce has a firm hand on the Hulk.”

Pepper froze and Tony did too when he realised what he had said. _“The HULK?!”_ Pepper shrieked. _“Are you telling me that you are related to the monster that destroyed Harlem?! Oh my god, the press is going to have a field day. I need to talk to the media department so we can spin this in such a way that the stock isn’t going to plummet the second it gets out.”_ Pepper started muttering to herself as she fumbled about her desk for a pen and paper to start listing things she needed to do.

Tony was almost inclined to laugh at her reaction but the second the word ‘Monster’ slipped out of her mouth he actually felt his stomach drop. _Wow, now I know what Barton feels like_. He thought to himself. “Bruce isn’t a monster, Pepper.” Tony interrupted her rambling firmly. “He’s a good guy who had an unfortunate accident.”

Pepper stopped and stared at him. “ _Okay Tony, maybe monster is the wrong word for it but the Hulk has caused millions of dollars of infrastructure damage not to mention he’s killed people.”_

“So have I.” Tony admitted. “They called me the Merchant of Death for a reason and Ironman doesn’t exactly have a clean record either. Besides, that was the military’s fault!” He said defending Banner’s alter ego. “Has anyone actually asked the Hulk nicely or just talked to him? No they just all arrive guns blazing in the hopes that they can either neutralise him or capture him!”

_“Tony you are not going to walk up to the Hulk and try talk to him!”_

“Why not?” Tony tested.

“ _Because you’ll be killed!”_ Pepper screeched back horrified that he was thinking about doing such a thing.

“Ah but that’s the rub!” Tony crowed. “I won’t be killed because deep down Banner would recognise me as being his twin brother, as being family!”

_“Tony you can’t guarantee that! You are not going to risk your life for a theory that might not even work!”_

Tony was prevented from answering when JARVIS interrupted them smoothly interjecting. _“Sir, apologies but it is time for the meeting in the Briefing Room.”_

Tony glanced toward the clock on the corner of the screen and then nodded in thanks before looking back to Pepper who was trying to calm herself once more. “I gotta go.”

 _“Okay.”_ Pepper answered weakly. _‘Tony, just…just don’t do anything stupid.”_

Tony forced a smile. “No guarantees.” He quipped.

Pepper looked resigned as she leant back into her chair and tucked a loose strand that had loosened behind her ear. _“Will that be all, Mr Stark?”_ she asked once more forcing herself into the appearance of the Stark Industries CEO.

“That’ll be all, Miss Potts.” Tony answered dutifully, before giving her a true smile of farewell as he signed off. As the computer went dark Tony inhaled a deep breath, winced ever so slightly as the Arc Reactor pulled and then slowly let it out. He absently rubbed the area around the reactor as he pushed to his feet and began the process of preparing himself for the meeting ahead. He was going to have to get his game face on; the call to Arno was going to have to wait until after the meeting with his biological father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that Pepper isn't hating on Bruce for being the Hulk regarding the monster comment! She's just freaking out about Tony being close to someone who is prone to millions of dollars of damage when angered. Not to mention the military is kind of biased and she will have seen the news reels and damage reports.
> 
> As I asked on FF.net: Does anyone have any comments about somehow inserting the Winter Soldier/Bucky Barnes in at a later date?
> 
> I'm going to watch Captain America 2 before I even think about writing Bucky in, as I don't really know much about his back story as the Winter Soldier. Also I have no idea where or how he's going to fit in.
> 
> I've also had a request for Darcy. Of course I will be sticking her in, Jane is there so she can't be anywhere without her expert herder.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the delay people! I've had the biggest block ever since my last update. Half of this chapter has been sitting in my computer for months in several parts; I've updated it on FF.net about two weeks ago but I sort of forgot to do it here.
> 
> If you have read it on FF.net you will know that I had some really shitty weeks (nana passed away & my position at work made redundant) now I've decided I'm moving back to New Zealand come the end of September. The last thing on my mind was updating this fic, sorry. But now that I've got nothing to do for the next few weeks/months until I get another job, I may write a bit more, no promises though because I'm sure you all know my updating history is terrible.
> 
> On a brighter note; who has seen Guardian's of the Galaxy? It is hilarious and awesome, I can't wait for the next one.

* * *

 

The door slid open with a hiss and even knowing the fact that it did so at a specific, unchanging speed all over the ship, it seemed as if it had opened in a far more dramatic fashion; although that could have possibly been due to the way the his younger brother strode into the room with an unhappy expression.

Steve dropped his hand of cards onto the table where he had been attempting to teach his father Poker and pushed to his feet slowly. “Jör?” he asked in concern. “What’s wrong?”

The younger came to a stop and opened his mouth to speak and then closed it before pulling a face and scrubbing his hands through his hair with a groan. Natasha unfolded her legs from underneath her and marked her place in the book she had been reading before putting it down on the table beside the couch. The redhead pushed to her feet and moved across the room to pulled her brother’s hands from his hair and hold them in her smaller ones. “Clint, breathe and then use your words.” She ordered in a practiced fashion.

Steve figured it was something she regularly told the other man as Barton took a deep calming breath before speaking.

“Tony Stark is Narfi.” He announced.

There was a poignant silence where Loki inhaled sharply and focused all his attention on his son. “How did you come across this knowledge?” he asked in a voice that did not hide the rising hope in it.

Clint’s lip curled showing his distaste at the answer. “Thor.” He spat. “Stark interrupted Coulson’s interrogation and Thor recognised him.”

Loki shook his head immediately in denial. “Not possible.” He announced pushing to his feet and beginning to pace around the room in short sharp steps. “When I hid the Twins, I hid them so that no one could find them but I; even Odin could not pierce the magic surrounding them to perceive their true identities.”

Here Clint shrugged and pulled his hands away from Natasha’s grip to face his father. “Either way, you should probably meet him face-to-face to check.” He suggested. The blonde’s sharp eyes caught the dubious expression on Loki’s face. “The first time you met him, Stark was wearing the Iron Man armour; there was no way you could have seen who he truly was. Not to mention you haven’t actually come face-to-face with Banner yet.”

“Dr Banner?” Steve asked in confusion. “I thought you said Stark was Narfi?” Apparently he was slow on the uptake because a second later Natasha’s face paled and she closed her eyes in horror.

“ _Bozhe moi_.” She cursed under her breath.

“Am I missing something?” Steve asked slowly, shooting uncertain looks between the three others in the room.

“It appears to me, that your brother is assuming that Dr Banner is really Vali.” Loki answered slowly, shooting a shrewd look toward Clint. The archer nodded in answer and Loki gave a short, sharp bark of laughter. “If what he speaks is the truth than the Norns are having fun at my expense. What are the odds that all five of my children were to be found all in one place within days of my arrival on this realm?”

“Too high to count.” Natasha muttered before turning to look at her brother and partner. “When is the meeting?” she asked.

“In another hour.” Clint answered. “Stark has sequestered himself in his room most likely calling Potts in order to run damage control; Banner is still oblivious in his lab, I’m assuming Coulson and Fury are leaving it up to you to tell him if it’s true.” he said, directing the last to Loki.

Loki nodded his head in understanding and then glanced toward the door. “I will return to my quarters.” He stated quietly. “The magic binds on your brothers’ differ from the ones that bound you; I need to gather my thoughts in a quiet area.” He explained, glancing back at his children to show his need to be alone. Loki looked toward Clint expecting a reaction from his clingiest child but the archer gave him a weak smile in return and shifted closer to his older brother instead.

Steve casually wrapped an arm around Clint’s shoulder and pulled him close without taking his eyes off his father. “I will come and get you when it’s time for the briefing.” He told Loki.

“Thank you.’ Loki answered before looking over his children once more and then leaving the room.

It was quiet as the Natasha sat down on the couch she had been reading on earlier and shifted down to make room for her brothers. Steve gently directed Clint to sit down in the middle and dropped down to sit at the other end. Natasha lifted Clint’s arm and wrapped it around her shoulders as she curled into her brother’s chest and wrapped her own arms around his torso as Steve draped his arm across Clint’s shoulders once more and snuggled in close from the other side.

“This sucks.” Clint whined after a few minutes of mutual cuddling. “I don’t want to be related to Stark.”

“It could be worse.” Steve answered him.

Natasha snorted from where she lay and didn’t bother to tilt her head to face him as she replied. “We’re possibly related to the Hulk.”

There was a pregnant pause as they digested that. “Dr. Banner seems nice enough.” Steve answered diplomatically.

“Until you piss him off.” Clint retorted. “Then you have a giant, green rage monster on your ass.”

Steve sighed and shook his head. “So don’t make him angry.” He suggested.

Clint turned to stare at his brother and even Natasha raised her head to look at Steve in disbelief. “You really need to get to know me better.” Clint stated honestly.

 

* * *

 

 

When they entered the briefing room a short time later; Clint found himself studying both Banner and Stark with new eyes. According to Thor, Stark was Narfi which meant that the arrogant genius was family. They wouldn’t really know about Banner until Loki arrived but considering the fact that four of the five team members Fury had gathered were in fact Loki’s missing children, the odds were relatively high that Coulson’s assumption of Banner being Vali was correct.

The tension in the room was palpable and the archer looked longingly toward the top of the cabinet in the corner of the room; he hated being up close and personal in tense situations, he hadn’t been lying to Fury when he told the Director that he saw things better from a distance. It gave him a unique perspective of a situation that others who were close to it couldn’t see; it had saved their hides more than once on a mission and right now he would rather be watching the resulting mess from a distance; family matter or not. He was rather regretting the promise to Coulson of not perching on top of furniture during briefings; the Handler had allowed the one deviation to the rule during Loki’s initial debriefing but a pointed look from the man now signalled that it was a onetime thing and the archer grudgingly took a seat at the table and studied the others.

Banner was sitting on the opposite side of the table with an apprehensive expression on his face; clearly the doctor wasn’t clear on reasoning behind the briefing but was expecting bad news nonetheless. Stark was pointedly ignoring everyone in the room by directing his attention on the tablet in his hands but Clint knew his mind was worrying over the present matter because the tablet’s screen had slipped into sleep mode a good two minutes ago and the engineer had yet to turn his unfocused gaze away from it. Natasha was sitting in what appeared to be a relaxed pose beside him and concentrating on filing her nails; unless you knew her very well and Clint did, you wouldn’t know that she was worried about the situation and more than likely not, plotting out ways to disable the biggest threats in the room and escape with a minimal amount of damage to herself. Fury was discussing something with Coulson and Hill near the door all of them wearing serious expressions which were probably doing nothing for Banner’s rising blood pressure.

After too long a wait, the door to the room opened admitting Steve and Loki; the blonde having volunteered to retrieve his father from his quarters and bring him to the meeting. Loki was wearing an anticipatory expression, as Steve stepped aside Loki’s pale blue eyes scanned the room. Clint watched in a mixture of curiosity, apprehension and something he refused to call jealousy as his father’s eyes stopped skimming the room and widened in recognition at the sight of the two men.

Apparently both Loki and Stark were content to just stare at each other but Banner unaware of the byplay hesitantly pushed to his feet and held a hand out to the Asgardian. “Umm…Loki, right? We haven’t met yet, I’m Bru-”.

“Vali.” Loki breathed in answer, interrupting Banner’s introduction.

The scientist paused in his movements and his eyes flickered warily over Loki’s face. “Uhhh…” he hummed unsurely before glancing behind him in case Loki was actually speaking to someone else. Finding no one he turned back to face Loki and took a hesitant step back, a hand immediately reaching up to take his glasses off and clean them with the tail of his shirt in a nervous gesture.

Loki’s eyes drifted away from Banner’s tense figure to that of Stark, who was now watching the Norse God with a guarded expression. Loki’s face twitched and he let out a short pained laugh and then ran a shaky hand through his hair. “The Norns take much delight in mocking me with the ease to which I find my missing children after so long.” He murmured quietly.

“Well, shit.” Fury stated succinctly into the pregnant silence that followed.

There was a sudden explosion of noise as Stark pushed to his feet, sending his chair flying back to hit the wall behind with a clatter. The billionaire looked briefly flustered at the accidental action before he pasted on his usual smirk and clapped his hands together. “Hey, I guess that means you and I will literally be Science Bros now, Bruce!” he declared patting the still confused scientist on the shoulder.

“I-I’m sorry, but what is going on here?” Bruce cried, shooting the room a wide eyed look. “Did Loki just call me Vali? Are you saying that I’m one of your missing children?” The last was directed toward Loki who was staring at the two men, taking in every detail he possibly could about them.

“Apparently.” Tony answered breezily. “Oh, and that’s our uncle we have locked up in your old room.” He added, waving his hand toward the ground to signify the large glass cage that Thor was currently locked in.

The reminder that the cage was originally supposed to hold the Hulk caused a look of irritation to cross the scientist’s face before disbelief took over instead as the man realized that Tony had answered one of his questions in the affirmative. “What?!” he demanded looking between his supposed brother and father.

“Doctor Banner, perhaps you should calm down.” Natasha directed warningly from her position on the other side of the room. She had cautiously pushed to her feet moments after Stark had and moved unobtrusively toward the door.

“Don’t tell me to calm down.” Bruce exclaimed. “I’m being told that I am the son of a Norse God with other Norse Gods as siblings!”

Natasha shot him an unimpressed look. “I can’t imagine what that could possibly be like.” She stated in a deadpanned voice. Bruce winced and shot her an apologetic look and then began to take several deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. A short while later and the scientist had calmed enough that he wouldn’t Hulk out and sat back down in his chair; an action which resulted in several hands slowly lifting off concealed weapons.

“Can someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?” Bruce said after a few seconds of quiet.

“I must have pissed off someone powerful in a past life.” Fury answered irritably. “Because as it turns out, the people I’ve assembled to protect this planet from alien threats aren’t actually from this damned planet in the first place.”

“Hey, does that mean I can stop paying taxes?” Clint asked perking up in his seat as the thought occurred. “Wait, does that mean I should expect a really good tax return this year due to getting over taxed since like ever?”

He earned several annoyed looks from the senior agents in the room but Tony leant forward wearing a curious expression on his face. “He has a point you know.” He stated. “Should we even be paying taxes since we’re aliens?”

“If you want to get technically about it, Stark,” Coulson started with a sigh. “You’re all illegal immigrants and the US government could have you deported. However there is legal documents regarding your adoption by Howard and Maria Stark on record; you are not exempt from taxes, sorry.” He apologised not even remotely sounding regretful about that fact.

Tony’s face twitched at the mention of his adoption and Clint’s head turned to look at the man along with Natasha’s. Well that explained what the blacked out section of Tony’s file mentioned; he wasn’t biologically a Stark…which wasn’t exactly news considering the previous announcement; what a let-down.

“Also, Agent Romanov was made a US citizen when she defected to SHIELD.” Coulson added glancing at the redhead across from him. “She gets taxed too.”

Natasha raised an eyebrow. “Natalia Alianovna Romanova defected to America and became a citizen; Hel Lokisdottir did not.”

Coulson shot her a bland look. “I’ll tell HR to update your paperwork, Agent Lokisdottir.” Natasha pulled a face at the name and Clint silently put a rare mental tally mark in the handler’s column of one-upmanship between the two.

Bruce cleared his throat drawing everyone’s attention once more. “Illegal immigration aside, I think we’ve got more important things to discuss right now.” He stated.

There was a moment’s silence as everyone glanced around waiting for someone else to start talking about the pink elephant in the room. Rolling his eyes, Clint decided to get the show back on the road. “Are you going to jab them with the Magic Sceptre of Memories or whatever it’s called?” he asked Loki who had otherwise been silent since sitting down.

Loki glanced at him unimpressed with his son’s reference the sceptre. “That would entirely be up to them.” He answered; the words were impartial but everyone could detect the wistfulness in his tone.

“Wait, just wait.” Bruce interjected holding up both his hands in an attempt to halt Loki from doing anything despite the fact that the god hadn’t moved. “I just need to wrap my head around this for a second.”

Tony snorted and crossed his arms. “I don’t think it’s actually possible to wrap your head around it, Bruce.” He stated honestly. “Not until we get the big picture and that won’t be happening until we have all the information; which if Legolas’ words meant anything we will get after Loki waves his magic stick at us.”

Clint scowled at the nickname but was prevented from retorting when his father answered the billionaire’s estimation with an affirmative. Bruce closed his eyes and took a deep, measuring breath before releasing it and nodding slowly.

“So, who’s going first?” Tony asked clapping his hands together in a way that didn’t hide his nerves from the group. Bruce looked at him and then toward Loki before shrugging his shoulders uncomfortably.

“Stark should go first.” Natasha suggested looking toward the billionaire. “There may be…problems with Banner.” She added. Whilst the scientist winced at the words he nodded his head in agreement; there was no point trying their luck.

“Right.” Tony answered apprehensively before he pushed to his feet and hesitantly walked toward Loki. “Getting jabbed with the Glow Stick of Destiny isn’t going to hurt right?” he asked eying Loki’s sharp looking sceptre warily.

“It should not cause any physical pain.” Loki answered truthfully as he pushed to his own feet and moved away from the table.

Tony’s face twisted at the words. “Right, only mental anguish on today’s agenda.” He muttered under his breath not quite quiet enough to keep the others from hearing.

Loki stepped forward and raised the sceptre slowly before halting; the god eyed Tony waiting for the billionaires go ahead to proceed. The pair stared at each other for several long seconds before Tony gave a single sharp nod. Clint thought back on the day his memories were released as Loki brought the sceptre up to Tony’s chest and everyone seemed to collectively hold their breathe and lean forward as the gem inside the sceptre began to glow. A faint noise began to grow as the tip inched toward the centre of the billionaire’s breastbone, the tip connected with a sharp clinking sound and then…nothing happened.

“Well…that was anticlimactic.” Tony stated after a second’s empty silence. He looked around the room at the others and held up a finger. “One, I don’t feel any different and two; I don’t have a head full of extra memories.” He finished, holding up a second finger.

Confusion crossed Loki’s face and he stared down at his sceptre as if it had somehow failed him. “That doesn’t usually happen.” He muttered to himself before bringing forth the power once more and trying again only to end up with the same outcome.

“Well, performance issues and all.” Tony snarked back before he could help himself. Loki paused in his frowning perusal of his suddenly faulty staff and looked up at Tony with a completely unimpressed expression at the jest.

“You don’t think the Arc Reactor has something to do with the sceptre not working, do you?’ Bruce suggested hesitantly from the side. “’The electromagnetic frequencies could be messing with the…ah…magic energy.” He added, the scientist in him not really wanting to believe in magic but being unsure what to call it otherwise.

“It is a possibility.” Loki answered, looking between the sceptre and the soft glow that was emitted from underneath Tony’s Black Sabbath t-shirt.

“So just jab him somewhere else.” Clint suggested with a casualness he wasn’t completely feeling. “Unless…it doesn’t have to be over the heart does it?” he asked uncertainly; sure that was where Loki had pointed the sceptre when he had released Odin’s binding magic from him, his father had also done it to Steve and most likely Natasha as well.

Loki gave a small shake of his head. “No, I can position the sceptre anywhere and it would still work but something is interrupting the magic and stopping it from working.”

“The Arc Reactor.” Tony stated, glancing down at his chest with a thoughtful frown before he looked up at Loki and took a small step backward. “Just before you get any wild ideas in your head, if it remove it I die; it’s the one thing keeping me alive.”

Loki’s eyes widened at the news and he’s gaze sharpened on the light blue glow on the billionaire’s chest. “Explain.” He ordered.

Tony shifted and glanced toward the SHIELD agents. “You mean they haven’t given you access to my files? That’s surprising.”

Fury crossed his arms and stared down the other man. “I don’t usually hand files on my people to strangers, Stark; especially not ones from another planet.”

Tony gasped and placed a hand to his chest in mock shock. “You regard me as one of your people, Fury? I’m honoured.”

“We’re not.” Clint muttered under his breath just loud enough for Natasha to hear and he caught the slight twitch of amusement from her lips at the words.

Tony smirked at the Director. “For someone who doesn’t hand out files on his people, you were awfully quick to give us access to each other’s files.” He paused to let that sink in before turning away from Fury to look toward Clint. “And what self-respecting sniper uses a bow and arrow for his tools of the trade? Technology has advanced further than the Stone Age in the past ten thousand years or so.”

Clint stiffened and narrowed his eyes but Loki brought the conversation back to where it was supposed to be before he could answer. “The device in your chest, explain to me why it would kill you if it were to be removed.” He ordered staring intently at said device once more.

If Clint thought it strange that his father didn’t just use his magic to find out that answer he didn’t point it out; considering that the sceptre didn’t work on Stark, Loki’s magic was possibly reacting oddly too; or he didn’t want to freak Stark out by using said magic on him.

Tony crossed his arms in front of the Arc Reactor protectively and took a long step backward. “There was a little thing a couple of years ago.” He explained waving a hand as he talked; how the man could flippantly describe being involved in an incendiary explosion as a ‘little thing’ Clint wasn’t sure but he had to give the man props for it. “In short, I have a bunch of tiny metal shards continuously trying to inch their merry little way into my heart and kill me; the Arc Reactor emits an electromagnetic field that holds them in place in order to prevent that. Ergo, you remove the reactor and I will die slowly and painfully. It might be just me but I’d like to avoid that if at all possible.”

“I see.” Loki answered slowly as he pondered over what he had been told. He thought quietly for a few second before he waved his free hand before him creating a web of glowing red magic. Tony jumped away from the magic in alarm before realising that it wasn’t in fact heading toward the Arc Reactor but instead hovering in front of Loki where it formed into something resembling his own holographic technology. The billionaire stopped and then his curiosity overcame his fear and he took several steps forward to peer at the magic in interest.

“Is that an internal image of Tony’s chest?” Bruce asked in surprise as what looked like an MRI formed before Loki.

“Yes.” Loki answered pensively as he gestured with his hand and runes floating before him changed along with it.

The runes looked familiar but flowed too fast for Clint to be able to decipher them clearly, he did manage to understand a word or two; namely ‘foreign objects’ and ‘heart’ before Loki waved a hand through the image and it faded away from existence.

“It will have to be removed in order for the magic to work.” Loki stated focusing his gaze once more on the glowing blue circle in Stark’s chest and taking a step toward Stark. The man in question jerked away from Loki and took several quick steps toward the doorway.

“Yeah no, not happening!” Tony declared in a slightly wild voice. “Did you _not_ hear me say that taking the Reactor out would kill me? I thought you were trying to get my memories back not murder me!”

Loki paused and stared at the other man in surprise. “I will not allow the shrapnel to reach your heart; my intention is to remove both the device and the metal shards before healing the damaged caused to you. You think I would do otherwise?” he asked a devastated look crossing his face.

Clint glared at Stark as the billionaire faltered slightly at Loki’s words. He tried to be impartial considering that he probably would’ve acted in exactly the same manner a week ago if he’d been in the same situation but it was hard to be when his father looked as if Stark had stabbed him in the gut. Clint felt Natasha shift beside him and he instinctively knew that both she and Steve would be feeling the same urge to beat the arrogant asshole into a pulp.

“You could do that?” Bruce asked in surprise glancing between Tony’s chest and Loki. He was vaguely apologetic for even entertaining the idea judging by the rueful look he sent toward Tony who was clutching at his chest protectively. “How would that even work?”

“It’s going to forever remain a mystery because it’s not going to happen!” Tony cried out, pointing a finger in Loki’s direction. “You are not getting anywhere near my chest and the Arc Reactor, Buddy.” Loki didn’t look happy with the decision but he nevertheless pulled back; Clint knew his father would get his way eventually; they would just have to let the reality of being Reactor Free sink through Stark’s thick skull before anything could happen.

Tony didn’t look completely reassured that Loki wouldn’t try anything and he shifted across the room to stand beside Coulson and Hill; no one bothered to point out to the man that the two human agent’s wouldn’t be able to protect him if Loki actually decided to try anything; it was easier to just allow the man his delusion.

“I guess that means it’s my turn?” Bruce asked hesitantly, cutting through the tense silence that resulted.

Loki nodded his head and readjusted his grip on the sceptre; he glanced once more in Tony’s direction before he stepped forward to approach Bruce.

“This is going to get messy.” Clint muttered under his breath as he watched Loki go through the same motions he had done earlier. The room was filled with tense anticipation as the tip of the glowing sceptre touched against Banner’s chest. There was slight flash of energy that Clint couldn’t recall happening before that caused everyone to shield their eyes momentarily and when he dropped his hand he found Bruce holding himself stiffly as blue magic arched across his body. He watch nervously as the man twitched under the onslaught but Bruce didn’t appear to be in any pain, it was more a mental reaction than a physical one. Bruce’s eyelids fluttered as the repressed memories ran through his mind and it was a few seconds later that Clint noticed that Bruce’s skin was beginning to take on a sickly green tinge. “Oh shit.” He breathed in mounting horror.

Apparently he wasn’t the only one to notice the distressing change as the others began to quickly edge away from the straining man as much as the small room would allow. Why had they decided doing this in a briefing room aboard the Helicarrier was a good idea again? Clint glanced at his father and was horrified to note that he hadn’t moved away from Banner’s changing form but was instead watching the transformation in a mixture of fascination and concern.

Bruce let out a strained groan and hunched forward. “You need to leave!” he managed to bite out between clenched teeth. “Leave NOW!” he finished in a roar as his body suddenly exploded into several times normal size destroying his clothing and leaving only shreds of his pants to protect his dignity.

The Hulk burst out of Banner’s small form and let an eardrum rupturing roar causing everyone to clamp their hands over their ears. Clint peered through watering eyes in an attempt find Loki and he found him in exactly the worst place possible.

Loki stood in front of the towering creature looking up at the Hulk with narrowed eyes. Clint felt his heart skip a beat when creature zeroed in on the smaller form standing before him. It let out a roar of anger correctly assuming that the figure was the one to blame for his present situation. Before anyone could react, the Hulk threw out an arm and backhanded Loki, sending the god across the room and through several walls. Clint let out a cry as he watched his father’s figure disappear from sight and lurched to his feet before his brain caught up with him. Amazingly the Hulk didn’t pay any attention to him, far too focused on taking out his anger on the man he had just hit. The Hulk let out another bellow and charged after Loki leaving an even large hole in his wake. Clint exchanged a lightning fast look with his siblings and the three of them immediately jumped through the hole after the Hulk and their father.

The four remaining people in the room winced as alarms began to sound throughout the Helicarrier. Tony started heading toward the door. “I should probably go suit up.” He stated glancing once more at the large hole. “Yeah, I’m going to suit up.” He determined before taking off down the hallway toward the Armoury at a run.

“I’ll get the containment teams ready.” Coulson suggested glancing toward Fury for confirmation. When the Director nodded that man glanced between the door and the gaping hole in the wall; shrugging to himself, Coulson headed toward the hole and climbed through; it was the shortest route to his destination.

 

* * *

 

 

Of all the stupid ass decisions he had ever made in his life this one had to have been one of the stupidest, Nick Fury decided as he watched the Coulson’s back disappear through the large hole in the wall left by the Hulk.  “Hill,” he growled as he helped his second in command up off the ground from where she had dove to the side to avoid the flying table. “If there is ever a time in the future where I have a meeting involving Asgardians, remind me to _not_ have it aboard the Helicarrier.”

Hill pulled a face at the statement but nodded firmly in agreement. “Yes, Sir.” She promised before tapping into her radio and the PA system. “All hands, be aware that we have a Code Green and report to your designated areas. You are not to engage, I repeat, you are _not_ to engage the Hulk.”

Fury closed his eye and took in a breath to slowly count to ten, he managed to get to five before the sound of an explosion followed by a roar ripped through the air and he let out a heavy sigh. “Damned alien bullshit.” He muttered before shoving his pistol back into its holster. He starting climbing over the destroyed furniture toward the door, he needed to get to the Bridge and sort this shit out before the Hulk did any more damage.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully it wasn't too disjointed from my previous chapters. Let me know if it was anyway, I'll try to get around to fixing it.


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